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HISTORICAL    SKETCH 
so*.' ROBINSON  FAMILY 

of  the  Line  of- 


EBENEZER   ROBINSON 

—A  SOLDIER  OF  THE   REVOLUTION— 


Ebenezer    Robinson 


[An  old  wood  cut  used  iu  the  "History 
of  Reading.  Vt  ,  and  loaned  by 
Gilbert  A.  Davis,  of  Windsor,  Vt.] 


A  HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


OF    THE 


Robinson  Family 


OF    THE    LINE    OF 


EBENEZER   ROBINSON 

A    Soldier   of  the   Revolution. 


Born    at    Lexington,    Mass.,    Feb.,     14th,     1765. 
Died    at    South    Reading,    Vt.,    Oct.    31,     1857. 


BY 

JANE    BANCROFT    ROBINSON,    Ph.    D. 

Mfmber  oj  American  Jlistoiiiol  Society. 


1903 
Detroit,  Michigan 


4u-^C 


Speaiier  Printing 
Company 
Detroit,  Michigan 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGES 

Sketcli  (if  the  life  of  EI)enezer  Robinson — Witnessed  the  British 
retreat  from  Lexington — Entered  the  Naval  Privateer  Ser- 
vice— Taken  prisoner — Long  imprisonment  in  "Old  Prison 
Ship  Jersey" — Exchange — Enlistment  in  the  Continental 
Army — His  service — His  discharge  after  two  years'  service — 
Settlement  in  Vermont — His  long,  useful  life  and  citizen- 
ship— His   death — His  children    5-16 

CHAPTER    n. 

William  Robinson,  of  Newton,  or  of  Watertown — Earliest 
known  Robinson  ancestor — Organizations  of  towns  of  Water- 
town,  Camljridge  and  Newton — His  probable  emigration 
from  the  north  of  England — Married,  about  1665-68,  Eliza- 
beth Cutter,  daughter  of  Robert  Williams,  the  ancestor  of 
the   founder  of   Williams   College — His   death   and   will ^/--^S 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  children  of  William  Roliinson — William  Rnljinson,  Jr.,  who 
owned  a  large  farm  where  Auburndale  is  nnw  located — Map 
of  part  of  Newton  of  1700 — Sanuiel  Robinson.  Ancestor  of 
Bennington,    Vt.,    branch    of    Rnbinsons ^4-30 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Jonathan  Robinson,  ancestor  of  the  Reading,  Vt.,  branch  of 
Robinsons — Purchased  the  Robinson  farm  in  Lexington, 
Oct.  II,  1706,  still  held  in  the  family  of  his  descendants — 
Reminiscences  of  the  old  farm  house — View  of  the  site  of  its 
ruins — Descendants  of  Jonathan  Robinson — Sketch  of  the  late 
Governor  Geo.  D.  Robinson,  a  descendant — Children  of 
James  and  Margaret  Robinson — Four  sons  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  Joseph,  Asa,  James  and  Ebenezer — Family  of 
James  Robinson,  Jr 31-41 


GlOt^TD 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS-Continued. 


CHAPTER    V. 

PAGES 

Sketch  of  life  of  Lewis  Robinson,  eldest  son  of  Ebenezer — An 
extensive  publisher  of  copper  plate  maps — Successful  business 
career — Picture  of  his  Vermont  home — Sketch  of  lives  of 
children — Caroline  and  Alden  Speare — Of  Calvin  L.,  of  Eliza 
Ann.  of  George   O.,  and  other  children 42-53 

CHAPTER    VL 

Sketch  of  life  of  Mar\in  Rol)inson — Man  of  great  energy  and 
strength — His  career — Of  his  children,  Franklin  ^L,  \Va  lace 
F.,  and  Elmer  D. — Successful,  capable  business  men  and  good 
citizens — Other  children   54-58 

CHAPTER    VH. 

Sketch  of  Ebenezer  Robinson.  Jr. — Of  his  sons,  Stillman  W'..  a 
professor  and  inventor.  Elna  A.  and  Alltert  A.,  wlm  Iniilt, 
as  chief  engineer,  nearly  the  whole  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Sys- 
tem, President  of  Mexican  Central  Railway — Also  sketch  of 
Eliza,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Robinson,  who 
married  ^^'ashington  Keyes — Sketch  of  their  descendants....   59-63 

CHAPTER    VIH. 

Origin  of  the  Robinson  name — Study  of  genealogy — Surnames — 

Derivations    from    name — Robinson   mottoes — Conclusion....   64-68 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  is  with  S()nie  degree  of  pleasure  and  satisfaction  that 
the  undersigned  present  this  "Historical  Sketch  of  the  Rob- 
inson Family"  t(i  the  descendants  of  Ebenezer  Robinson, 
whose  life  is  herein  described. 

\\'hile  on  a  visit  to  Boston  last  August,  we  had  the 
pleasure  of  attending  the  biennial  meeting  of  the  "Robinson 
Family  Association"  at  Gloucester.  ^Lass.,  of  \isiting  the 
birthplace  of  Ebenezer  Robinson  at  historic  Lexington,  and 
of  viewing  the  lane  where  young  Roliinson.  hearing  the 
noise  of  the  battle,  ran  down  and  \\itnessed  the  retreat  (.)f 
the  British  troops  along  the  turn-pike  to  Boston. 

It  was  an  eventful  summer  day  to  us  when  with  our 
kodaks,  we  inspected  the  patriotic  scenes  about  Lexington, 
and  the  interest  awakened  there  and  at  the  "Robinson  Fam- 
ily" gathering  at  Cdoucester  is  the  responsi1)le  cause  of  thi^ 
sketch. 

If  the  descendants  of  Ebenezer  Robinson  take  anvthing 
like  the  pleasure  in  reading-  and  tracing  this  family  history 
that  has  loeen  enjoyed  in  its  preparation,  we  shall  be  amply 
repaid  for  the  time  and  effort  expended. 

In  preparing  this  sketch  there  were  many  facts  as  to  per- 
sons and  families  much  to  be  desired,  which  we  were  unable 
or  found  difficult  to  obtain.  This  will  account  for  any  lack 
of  uniformity  in  the  facts  given  of  the  several  families.  We 
regret  that  we  were  not  able  to  obtain  pictures  of  the  home 
of  Ebenezer  Robinson  in  South  Reading  and  of  other  home- 
steads of  Robinson  families. 


INTRODUCTION. 


We  are  indeljted  to  Afr.  Charles  K.  Rol^inson,  of  Yon- 
kers.  N.  Y.,  the  Historius^rapher  of  the  "Robinson  Family 
Association"  for  the  "Robinson  Family  Crest,"  as  given 
herein,  and  for  many  facts  and  suggestions  relative  to 
this  history;  also  to  Rev.  S.  L.  B.  Speare,  of  Newton, 
Mass.;  to  Mr.  (ieorge  A.  (iordon,  of  P.oston,  Recording 
Secretary  of  the  New  Fngland  Historic  (lenealogical  Soci- 
etv;  to  Mr.  Arthur  H.  Keyes.  of  Rutland,  \'t..  and  several 
other  members  of  the  Robinson  Family  for  valual)le  infor- 
mation contained  herein. 

With  the  best  wishes  of  the  undersigned,  this  historical 
sketch  is  resi)ectfully  sn1)mitte(l  to  the  numer(jus  descend- 
ants of  our  Re\dlutionar)-  Hero. 

George  O.  Robinson, 
Jane  B.  Robinson. 


npHE  writing   of  this   Sketch  involved  considerable 
work.     The  aid  of  court  officials  and  genealogists 

was  obtained  wKen  further  accuracy  could  be  secured. 

Therefore   the    labor    and    expense   given    tbis    little 

pampKlet   xCere   more   than   is   manifest   b})   a   cursor}) 

glance. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  Sketch  may  prove  of  interest 

to  those  of  the  future  who  honor  the  substantial  men 

and  women  of  the  past  w'ho  have  contributed  to  make 

our  country  what  it  is  toda^). 

Mrs.  George  O.  Robinson 

1303  Wentworth  Avenue, 
Pasadena,  California 


CHAPTER  I. 

EBENEZER    ROBINSON. 

The  State  of  Massachusetts  has  furnished  many  "good 
men  and  true"  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  great  RepubHc  of  the 
New  World.  Among  these  are  statesmen  and  leaders  far  out 
of  proportion  to  her  population.  The  subject  of  this  sketch, 
however,  is  one  of  the  rank  and  file,  one  of  the  many  up- 
right, substantial  men,  who  have  made  New  England  what 
it  is  in  influence  and  in  history. 

New  England  has  developed  through  its  religion.  Love 
of  church  privileges  led  the  people  to  settle  near  one  another, 
so  that  they  could  build  meeting  houses.  They  desired  to 
educate  their  children  to  become  not  only  good  citizens  but 
intelligent,  exemplary  citizens,  and  so  they  built  school- 
houses.  These  conveniences  gave  rise  to  their  town  organ- 
izations, and  to  the  town-meeting  which  did  more  to  improve 
and  elevate  the  people  than  any  other  political  institution. 

The  town-meeting  assembled  all  the  freemen  on  a  level, 
public  questions  were  openly  discussed,  and  every  freeman 
understood  his  civil  and  political  rights,  and  to  maintain 
them  was  ready  to  fight.  Hence  the  citizens  of  New  England 
kept  up  a  military  organization,  selecting  their  wisest  and 
most  reliable  men  as  officers,  and  often  the  same  man  held 
the  office  of  both  captain  and  deacon.  The  religious  idea 
was  the  foundation  stone  of  their  civilization. 

We  may  call  the  Puritans  of  New  England  stern  and 
austere,  but  their  conceptions  of  life  tended  to  elevate  and 
ennoble.  Their  climate  was  cold  and  rigorous ;  their  land 
infertile;  their  privations  many.  They  were  trained  in  the 
school  of  adversity.  Yet  it  remains  true  as  has  been  said : 
"In  wealth,  in  learning,  in  social  order,  in  everything  which 
make  a  people  truly  great,  the  Colonies  settled  by  the  Puri- 
tans are  decidedly  in  advance  of  anv  others." 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH 


It  was  to  such  an  environment  that  Ebenezer  Robinson 
was  born  Pel).  14,  1765.  His  father,  grandfather  and  great- 
grandfather had  all  lived  their  lives  in  similar  surroundings. 
His  mother  died  when  he  was  a  little  boy  of  nearly  three 
years,  and  his  father  when  he  was  nine  years  of  age.  He  con- 
tinued to  live  on  in  the  old  homestead,  with  his  step-mother 
and  four  younger  children  to  play  with,  and  to  care  for. 
^Meanwhile  the  clouds  on  the  political  sky  were  gathering, 
and  the  young  men  of  the  family  shared  in  the  indignant, 
resentful  feeling  of  the  colonists.  Three  of  his  older  broth- 
ers were  Revolutionary  soldiers,  and  his  oldest  brother,  Jo- 
seph, took  part  in  the  battle  of  Lexington,  the  first  outbreak 
of  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  is  not  strange  that  as  a  boy  of 
sixteen.  Ebenezer  entered  the  service,  becoming  one  of  the 
defenders  of  his  country.  We  have  the  story  of  his  life 
from  his  own  lips,  as  told  to  his  grandson,  George  O.  Robin- 
son, wdio  had  completed  his  college  course  at  the  University 
of  Vermont  and  was  over  twenty-five  years  of  age  when  his 
grandfather  died.* 

"One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Reading,  Vt.,  was  Ebenezer  Robinson,  a  soldier  of  the  Rev- 
olutionarv  war,  who  was  born  on  the  14th  day  of  February, 
1765,  in  Lexington,  ]\Iass.,  near  the  place  where  afterwards 
occurred  the  battle  of  Lexington.  He  was  the  sixth  son 
of  James  and  Alargaret  Robinson;  who  lived  at  this  time 
on  the  old  homestead  farm,  which  Jonathan  Robinson,  the 
father  of  James,  purchased  of  Isaac  Powers  in  1706,  and 
on  which  James  was  born  August  30th,  1715. 

Ebenezer  Robinson  settled  in  South  Reading,  Vt.,  in  the 
Spring  of  1788,  with  his  elder  brother,  James  Robinson, 
who  was  then  married.  They  located  on  the  farm  near  South 
Reading  recently  owned  and  for  a  long  time  held  by  Wash- 
ington Keyes,  which  was  then  a  wilderness.  They  built  here 
a  log  cabin,  and,  immediately  after,  was  1x)rn  a  son  of  James 
Robinson.  Ebenezer  Robinson,  2d  (named  after  the  subject 

*This  narrative  was  prepared  for  and  mainly  taken  from  the  "Hist,  of  Read- 
ing, Vt.,  G.  A.  Davis,  Bellows  Falls,  Vt,  1874." 


ROBINSON    FAMILY. 


of  this  sketch),  who  subsequently  was  a  resident  of  Felch- 
ville,  a  village  which  sprung  up  in  the  southeast  part  of 
Reading.  He  was  familiarly  known  as  Capt.  Eb.  In  this 
log  house  the  two  brothers  lived  for  several  years,  Ebenezer 
clearing  and  settling  his  farm  adjoining,  afterward  so'  long 
owned  and  occupied  by  himself,  till  the  summer  of  1792, 
when  he  built  a  frame  house,  which  is  still  standing  as  the 
wing  or  kitchen  part  of  the  present  house,  and  to  which  in 
November,  1792,  having  married  Miss  Hannah  Ackley,  he 
took  his  bride  and  established  his  own  happy  home.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  the  Ackley  family  had  migrated  from  the  vi- 
cinity of  Haddam,  Connecticut,  and  settled  above  South 
Reading.  In  this  frame  house  this  devoted  couple  reared 
a  large,  intelligent,  prosperous  family  and  spent  a  happy 
life  of  sixty-six  years  together.  In  1824  he  built  on  a  large 
two-story  frame  mansion  as  an  addition  in  front,  which  in 
those  times  was  considered  an  unusually  fine  residence,  and 
still  stands  as  a  respectable  edifice. 

The  hardships  of  clearing  this  hardwood  wilderness  farm 
were  great,  but  he  was  always  undaunted,  and  nothing  baf- 
fled him.  During  this  early  period  he  successfully  dealt  in 
the  real  estate  of  this  vicinity  and  secured  many  permanent 
settlers  for  the  town. 

In  his  ninety-first  year,  while  he  was  in  the  full  vigor  of 
intellect,  he  gave  his  grandson,  Frank  M.  Robinson,  of 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  the  following  account  of  his  early  life, 
which  was  taken  down  in  his  own  words : 

T  was  born  in  Lexington,  Mass.,  on  the  14th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1765.  I  was,  therefore,  only  a  lad  of  abcjut  ten  years 
when  the  great  struggle  which  gave  freedom  to  the  Ameri- 
can people  began,  when  injured  rights  were  to  be  vindi- 
cated, when  I  heard  the  report  of  musketry,  in  the  opening 
scene  of  this  conflict  for  freedom  of  conscience  and  freedom 
of  country,  in  the  streets  and  upon  the  Green  of  my  own 
native  town. 

Well  do  I  remember  the  roll  of  the  musketry  and  the  noise 
of  this  battle  of  Lexington,  and  the  excitement  consequent 
upon  the  retreat   of  the   British   soldiers   down  the  valley 


8  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

past  my  home  to  Boston,  and  of  the  snbseqnent  severer  con- 
flict at  Bunker's  Hill,  but  a  few  miles  distant. 

Thus  early  in  life  did  I  begin  to  cherish  a  warm  love  of 
country,  amounting-  even  to  patriotism,  and  to  be  moved 
by  a  true  sense  of  the  dangers  that  seemed  to  threaten,  not 
only  the  peace  and  quietude  of  the  family  and  town,  but 
the  ruin  of  the  whole  colonial  fabric. 

The  engagements  at  Lexington,  at  Concord  and  upon 
Bunker's  Height  warmed  my  bosom  with  more  than  a  child- 
ish ardor  to  join  the  contest  against  British  insolence  and 
what  savored  of  perpetual  thralldom.  Early  in  the  spring 
of  1 78 1  I  entered  the  service,  accompanied  by  my  brothers, 
Asa  and  James  Robinson,  on  board  the  ship  Belisarius, 
carrying  20  guns.  The  number  on  board,  including  officers, 
sailors,  and  soldiers,  was  125.  We  set  sail  from  Boston 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  James  Munroe. 

We  cruised  off  south,  along  the  coast  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  about  the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna  River,  thence  still 
southerly  till  we  were  in  the  region  of  the  Equator,  where 
one  day  we  discovered  at  early  dawn  what  appeared  in  the 
dim  distance  to  be  a  ship.  We  gave  chase,  and  after  the 
lapse  of  many  hours  so  neared  the  stranger  that  we  were 
within  cannon  range  of  her. 

It  was  a  much  larger  ship  than  our  own  and  carried 
many  more  guns.  We  supposed  her  a  heavy  man-of-war  of 
the  British  line,  and  began  to  prepare  our  noble  vessel  for 
an  engagement.  As  is  the  custom  in  such  instances,  or  in 
naval  contests,  all  the  sails  were  furled,  except  the  top-sails 
and  some  of  the  stay-sails,  which  were  just  sufficient  to 
govern  the  ship  and  change  her  position  when  necessary. 
Our  cannon  were  charged  and  our  torches  burning,  and  we 
waited  for  a  change  of  position  before  we  should  salute  her 
with  a  broadside. 

Meanwhile  our  enemy  had  eased  her  flight,  furled  sail, 
cleared  deck,  prepared  for  fight,  and  was  the  first  to  dis- 
charge her  cannon.  This  assault  was  unexpected  by  us,  as 
it  was  not  attended  by  the  usual  formalities  of  naval  warfare 
on  the  part  of  the  stranger.     In  view  of  this  cowardly  act 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  9 

our  commander  at  once  ordered  us  to  draw  alongside  the 
unknown  ship,  to  grapple  and  toard  her  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, but  no  sooner  was  this  moxement  commenced  than,  to 
our  surprise,  not  to  say  our  chagrin,  the  vessel,  which  we 
had  regarded  all  along  as  an  English  man-of-war,  hoisted 
Spanish  colors,  and  thereliy  took  away  all  i)retext  of  war- 
fare, except  the  ill-treatment  we  had  received.  Capt.  Mun- 
roe  was  at  first  inclined  to  resent  this  indignity,  this  violation 
of  the  usages  of  allied  nations  in  their  intercourse  on  the 
high  seas  in  time  of  war.  He  however,  gave  \'ent  to  his 
irritation  and  anger  by  adressing  the  Spanish  commander  in 
the  most  pre-emptory  and  decisive  manner  and  terms,  in 
relation  to  his  cowardly,  dastardly  conduct. 

The  Spanish  Captain  very  coolly  submitte:l,  and  offered 
to  accompany  us  and  do  us  service  when  he  could.  The 
replv  of  Capt.  Alunrc^e  was  in  these  laconic  words:  "Co 
your  way.      1  prefer  rather  to  be  alone  than  attended  l)y 

such  a  d (1  coward  as  you  have  shown  yourself,"  and 

so  we  separated. 

From  the  equatorial  regions,  after  capturing  one  or  two 
smaller  prizes,  we  cruised  northward  oiT  the  \A'est  India 
Islands.  We  shifted  about  here  for  several  days,  until  early 
one  morning  we  discovered  a  fleet  composed  of  several  ships, 
yet  at  the  distance  they  were  from  us,  we  could  not  discern 
their  number.  They  were  steering  directly  toward  us  and 
bore  everv  evidence,  as  the}-  afterwards  proved  to  be,  of 
being  a  fleet  of  the  British  line.  We  endeavored  to  make 
our  escape  by  flight.  They  g'ave  us  chase  and  followed  in  hot 
pursuit  until  past  midday.  During  their  pursuit,  when 
they  had  gained  upon  us  so  nuich  as  to  l)e  within  cannon. 
range,  thev  ga\'e  us  occasicjnal  shots  from  the  how  ()r  gun- 
wale of  the  ship,  th(5ugh  without  much  injury  to  our  ship 
or  crew.  One  of  these  shots,  however,  took  off  both  legs. 
close  to  the  body,  of  a  man  who  stood  next  to  me.  on  my 
left  hand,  and  at  the  same  instant  a  splinter  from  the  side 
of  the  vessel  struck  mv  foot  and  benuml)ed  my  whole  leg, 
from  which  I  suffered  much.  Idie  fleet  neared  us,  and  it 
beino-  satisfactorilv  determined  that  it  was  a  British  fleet  of 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


fourteen  ships,  five  of  which  were  larger  than  onr  own,  anci 
all  hope  of  escape  being"  aliandoned,  we  concluded  t()  sur- 
render. We  w^ere  divided  among  the  ships  of  the  enemy, 
being  about  twenty  persons  to  each.  We  were  well  treated 
while  in  this  situation.  The  t^eet  directed  its  course  to  New 
York  City,  where  we  were  all  put  on  l)oard  the  'Old  Jersey,' 
the  notorious  British  prison  ship,  then  lying  up  luist  River, 
above  the  City,  and  entirely  without  rigging. 

\\>  had  been  cruising  about  three  months  when  we  were 
captured.  Our  sufferings  while  confined  in  this  e)ld  hull  of  a 
ship  were  unaccountably  severe,  and  many  of  our  number 
perished  on  account  of  the  stench,  the  damp,  deathly  atmos- 
phere in  which  we  were  confined  anil  the  miserable  food 
which  was  furnished  us  to  support  life. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  know  of  what  our  fare 
consisted  and  what  humanity  is  capable  of  enduring,  wdien 
controlled  by  the  force  of  necessity.  The  account  is  brief, 
but  heart-sickening.  Bread  was  a  constant  part  of  our  ration 
and  the  chief  source  of  our  nutriment.  It  came  to  our 
hands  in  anv  but  a  palatable  condition.  The  loa\'es  were 
badly  eaten  by  insects  and  then  abandoned  by  them,  or 
well  inhabited  by  vermin  on  their  reception  by  us.  What 
was  not  in  this  condition  was  very  full.  I  had  almost  said 
literally  alive,  with  insects,  insomuch  that  it  was  imix)ssible 
for  us  to  get  them  all  out,  and  we  were  obliged  to  devour 
these  animated  communities,  these  bee-hives  of  activity, 
or  to  be  reduced  to  the  utmost  wretchedness  and  starvation. 
Besides  our  bread,  we  had  pease  twice  a  week.  When  the 
day  came  in  which  we  were  to  have  l)(->iled  pease,  the  stew^- 
ard  would  put  about  two  bushels  into  a  large  kettle  with  a 
quantity  of  water  and  boil  them.  I  have  stood  by  the  side 
of  this  kettle  while  its  contents  were  becoming  heated,  and 
have  seen  yellow  worms  rise  to  the  surface  in  large  quanti- 
ties, and  as  the  water  became  heated,  they  would  gather  in 
large  clusters,  affording  the  only  seasoning  or  condiment 
to  our  repast. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  time  of  my  imprisonment, 
I  had  the  smallpox,  but  began  to  recover  before  arrange- 


ROBINSON    FAMILY. 


ments  were  made  for  our  exchange.  I  was  a  prisoner 
aboard  the  'Old  Jersey'  about  six  months.  We  were  ex- 
changed, conveyed,  and  set  off,  some  time  in  December, 
on  the  coast  of  Rhode  Island.  I  rememl)er  this  fact  in  rela- 
tion to  time  from  this  circumstance,  that  it  was  Thanks- 
giving time,  and  the  first  of  sleighing.  I  was  not  well  when 
1  was  set  off,  not  having  entirel}'  recovered  from  the  small- 
pox. I  could  not  walk  more  than  five  or  six  miles  per 
diem.  Occasionally  I  had  an  opportunity  to  ride  a  few 
miles. 

When  coming  through  the  streets  of  Providence  on  a 
cold,  stormy  day,  with  nothing  to  protect  my  feet  from  the 
snow,  ice  and  water  which  then  filled  them,  1)ut  some  old 
scuffs,  that  were  not  worthy  the  name  of  shoes,  a  gentleman, 
observing  my  condition,  hailed  me  ant!  inquired  the  cause 
of  my  destitution,  whence  1  came  and  whither  T  was  going. 
I  told  him  briefly  what  circumstances  had  brought  me  to 
this  condition.  He  assured  me  that  my  shoes  were  good  for 
nothing,  and  directed  me  to  go  into  a  small  grocery  or 
huckster  shop  near  by,  and  remain  there  until  he  should 
return  with  some  shoes  for  me.  I  entered  as  he  directed, 
and  there  found  six  or  eight  young  men  lounging  or  appa- 
rently without  an}-  business.  They  gazed  upon  me  some- 
what intently,  noticed  my  ragged  and  tattered  garments, 
and  soon  began  to  manifest  no  little  interest  to  know  what 
had  subjected  me  to  so  forkirn  and  destitute  a  condition. 

To  them  also  I  narrated  some  of  the  leading  incidents  of 
my  life.  Excited  l)y  pit\-  at  seeing  me  so  ragged,  shoeless 
and  shivering  with  cold,  they  gave  me  a  'bitter,'  a  little 
luncheon  and  contributed  about  a  dollar  in  money  to  pro- 
cure me  food  when  I  could  not  beg,  or  might  be  turned 
away  without  alms.  At  this  point  of  my  interview^  with  the 
}T)ung  men,  the  old  gentleman  before  mentioned  returned 
with  a  pair  of  shoes,  a  pair  of  socks  and  some  bread  and 
cheese,  all  which  he  presented  to  me,  accompanied  by  the 
most  cheering  language,  and  expressing  a  strong  hope  that 
I  might  be  sustained  and  prospered  in  the  remainder  of  my 


12  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


journey,  we  parted.  I  felt  encouraged  and  renewed  my 
journey  with  a  more  elastic  step  and  a  lighter  heart. 

I  commonly  stopped  at  houses  such  as  gave  evidence  of 
thrift  and  wealth,  being  less  likely  to  be  turned  away  from 
such  places  than  from  the  beggarly,  poor  appearing  homes. 
I  was  obliged  to  beg  my  food  and  shelter  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  wav.  I  recollect  calling  at  one  house,  a  kind  of  tavern 
or  'way  house."  at  night,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  shelter 
for  the  night.  I  went  into  the  kitchen  and  made  known  my 
poverty  to  the  landlady,  and  asked  that  she  would  permit  me 
to  lodge  upon  the  floor  by  the  hre.  She  told  me  she  thought 
I  might  be  thus  accommodated,  though  her  husband  was 
then  absent  and  might  on  his  return  be  unwilling  I  should 
remain.  He  came  late  in  the  evening,  had  apparently  been 
drinking  and  was  very  cross.  He  asked  me  what  I  was 
there  for,  and  told  me  he  would  not  have  me  in  his  house. 
Said  he:  'You  have  the  smallpox,  you  must  leave,  you  can- 
not remain  here.'  I  entreated  him  not  to  drive  me  from  his 
house,  leaving  me  at  that  hour  of  the  night  to  the  mercy  of 
the  cold,  bleak  winds  of  December.  But  my  appeal  was  in 
vain.  Finally,  h(iwe^•er.  at  my  earnest  solicitation,  he  gave 
me  permission  to  lie  in  his  horse-barn,  and  thus  I  passed  the 
night.  His  allusion  to  my  having  the  smallpox  w^as  because 
it  was  plain  to  be  perceived,  on  account  of  want  and  much 
exposure  to  cold,  that  I  recently  had  had  that  disease,  though 
at  that  time  there  was  no  danger  to  l>e  apprehended  from  it. 
However,  it  served  as  a  pretext  for  driving  me  from  his 
house.  One  man  carried  me  several  miles  on  my  journey, 
and  generally  I  was  treated  very  well. 

I  remained  at  home,  being  in  poor  health,  through  the 
three  winter  months,  and  then  entered  the  military  service  in 
the  Revolution,  early  in  the  spring  of  1782.  I  enlisted  for 
the  town  of  ]\[alden  for  three  years,  under  Capt.  Wait. 
Before  entering  the  ranks  in  the  field.  T  went  to  Boston  and 
served  as  waiter  to  Lieut.  Thomas  Rol)inson.  who  was  clerk 
to  the  muster-master.  I  remained  here  three  or  four  weeks, 
when  I  went  with  twenty-five  or  thirty  others  to  near  West 
Point,  on  the  Hudson  River,  and  joined  the  loth  ^Massachu- 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  13 


setts  Regiment.  The  loth  wore  British  cuats  and  was  com- 
manded by  Col.  Tnpper.  1  was  in  Capt.  Dix's  company. 
We  went  to  Verplank  Point,  lay  there  some  time,  then  went 
to  Morrison,  or  a  place  of  some  such  name,  and  remained 
about  a  month.  Soon  after  the  9th  and  10th  regiments 
broke  up.  and  1  entered  the  5th  regiment,  commanded  by 
Col.  ]\Iichael  Jackson,  under  Capt.  Cogswell.  A  Grenadier 
comi)anv  was  formed  oi  the  tallest  and  stoutest  men.  I 
had  the  offer  to  join,  but  did  not,  and  was  obliged  to  join 
another  company.  The  Grenadier  company  was  formed  at 
Newburgh  Huts  and  remained  there  until  after  the  news  of 
peace. 

When  the  news  of  peace  came,  our  huts  or  camp  were 
knee  deep  in  snow,  but  we  celebrated  the  event  with  raising 
of  flags  and  with  guns  and  music.  Then  all  regiments  broke 
up,  and  one  was  formed  called  the  American  Regiment  of 
3'oung  men,  consisting  of  six  or  seven  hundred,  under  Lol. 
Henry  Jackson.  I  was  assigned  to  Capt.  Williams'  com- 
pany, my  term  of  enlistment  not  having  expired,  and  we 
remained  at  Newburgh  Huts  till  winter,  and  was  then 
ordered  to  Old  Springfield.  Mass.  Capt.  Williams'  com- 
pany numbered  about  sixty.  I  remained  at  Springfield 
till  i  got  mv  discharge,  wdiich  was  the  last  of  June  or  first  oi 
July,  1 784'  The  wdiole  company  were  discharged  at  the 
same  time.  My  discharge  was  made  out  in  New  York,  and 
was  signed  by  Col.  Henry  Jackson.' 

After  thus  serving  over  two  years  in  the  Revolutionary 
armv,  voung  Robinson  returned,  with  his  brothers,  to  his 
native  home  in  Lexington.  Here  he  remained  in  honest 
toil,  till  the  spring  of  1788,  when  he  removed  and  settled  at 
South  Reading,  as  above  stated. 

The  hardships  of  his  service  during  the  Revolutionary 
Avar,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  early  in  life  left  an  orphan 
and  had  to  labor  hard  for  his  own  livelihood,  schooled  him 
well  for  the  hardships  of  his  early  settlement  in  this  town. 
What  to  most  men  would  seem  insurmountable  obstacles, 
were  often  easilv  encountered  by  him  and  regarded  as  trivial. 
It  was  a  favorite  remark  of  his  that,  if  you  wished  to  ac- 


14  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


complish  anything-  difficnlt  or  laliorious,  yon  shonld  always 
say,  'Come,  boys,'  and  not  'Go,  boys.'  He  believed  that 
success  in  any  calling  of  life  consisted  mainly  in  a  good, 
vigorous,  personal  leadership  of  the  persons  to  be  benefited. 

Here  on  his  productive,  well-tilled  farm  he  spent  a  long; 
life  of  usefulness  and  activity  and  reared  a  large  family  of 
children,  and  like  many  of  those  old  revolutionary  pension- 
ers, he  was  in  his  old  age  healthy  and  hearty,  re- 
markably vigorous  b()th  in  mind  and  body,  even  to  his  last 
brief  sickness.  Long  will  his  grandchildren  remember  those 
grand  old  Thanksgiving  days,  and  the  good  cheer  and  the 
jolly  times  enjoyed  around  his  festive  table  and  cheerful 
fireside  on  these  anniversary  days.  A  few  years  before  his 
death,  after  a  residence  in  this  town  of  nearly  seventy  years, 
he  again  re-visited  the  scenes  of  his  childhood  in  Lexington. 
It  was  a  visit  of  sad  and  lonely  interest  to  him.  Of  all  his 
former  large  circle  of  early  relatives,  friends  and  accpiaint- 
ances,  he  found  only  two  survivors  and  they  were  much 
broken  down  with  age.  Yet  his  visit  to  those  places  of 
historical  and  local  interest,  he  seemed  to  enjoy  with  peculiar 
zest. 

His  death  occurred  on  the  31st  day  of  October,  1857,  at 
the  age  of  nearly  ninety-three  years.  Less  than  two  weeks 
before  his  death,  he  related  in  detail  the  above  history  to  the 
writer  of  this  sketch  and  recounted,  with  wonderful  lueiuory 
and  great  animation  and  zeal,  the  various  vicissitudes  and 
hardships  of  his  long  life. 

His  veneration  for  Washington,  the  father  of  our  coun- 
try was  very  great,  and  it  was  ever  his  pride  that  he  was 
once  a  member  of  a  company  that  temporarily  acted  as  a 
body  guard  to  their  noble  commander. 

It  was  one  of  his  latest  remarks,  that  during  the  sixty- 
six  years  he  had  lived  with,  the  wife  of  his  choice,  in  that 
house  and  upon  that  farm,  he  had  lived  in  contentment  and 
happiness,  and  had  never  wished  to  change  his  lot  for  that 
of  any  other,  nor  his  hcime  f(^r  that  which  any  other  country 
or  clime  could  aiTord.  He  seemed  happy  in  the  society  of 
his  numerous  posterity  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  15 

them  generally  prosperous.  He  had  little  or  no  education 
in  early  life  except  that  acquired  in  the  army  and  l)y  his 
later  experience,  yet  in  his  old  age  he  could  cast  up  the 
amount  due  on  promissory  notes  given  at  annual  interest, 
with  difficult  partial  payments  endorsed  thereon,  and  make  a 
written  statement  of  the  same,  with  an  accuracy  and  dis- 
patch that  might  well  put  to  shame  many  of  the  liberally  edu- 
cated young  men  of  the  present  day.  He  learned  to  write 
while  in  the  Continental  army,  by  copying  the  ballads  and 
camp-songs  of  the  soldiers  in  copy  books,  one  of  which  is 
now  in  the  possession  of,  and  highly  prized  by  the  writer  of 
this  sketch. 

As  a  citizen,  he  was  always  upright  and  exact  in  all  his 
dealings,  and  dignified,  though  generous  and  cordial  in  his 
intercourse.  He  was  never  an  office-seeking  politician,  but 
held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  both  civil  and  mili- 
tary, and  always  proved  himself  worthy  of  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him,  and  was  honored  by  his  townsmen  in  posi- 
tions of  trust  in  many  ways.  He  was  public  spirited  and  a 
patron  of  noble  enterprise.  The  bell  in  the  steeple  of  the 
church  at  South  Reading  was  his  gift  to  the  people  of  that 
village.  He  was  ever  a  stern  b.ver  of  justice.  He  remarked 
to  the  writer,  at  his  last  interview  with  him,  that  he  had 
made  it  a  principle  during  his  life,  'ever  to  do  right'  and  to 
cause  right  to  be  done.  He  was  a  devoted  patriot  and  had 
personally  attended  the  polls  of  czrry  Presidential  election 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  casting  his  last  ballot  for  Fre- 
mont in  1856. 

Thus  have  passed  away  these  Revolutionary  patriots. 
None  remain  to  testify  of  their  early  hardships  and  strug- 
gles for  Freedom.  Through  their  labors  and  sufferings  we 
inherit  this,  our  fair  land,  and  these,  our  free  institutions. 

Truly  do  their  memory  and  their  courage  deserve  our 
highest  veneration  and  respect,  and  if  thus  their  memories 
are  revered  by  their  posterity,  they  will  not,  of  necessity, 
need  any  lofty  monuments  or  deeply  wrought  inscription  to 
tell  us  of  their  noble  deeds,  their  devoted  patriotism  and  true 
greatness.     However  lowly  may  be  their  resting-place,  let 


16  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


these  tributes  ever  be  ascriljed  to  their  memories  with  grate- 
ful hearts.     May  it  truly  l)e  said  of  them,  that: — 

•the  joy 
Willi   wliicli   tlieir  children  tread  the  hallowed  ground 
That   hcihls  their  venerated  bones,  the  peace 
That  smiles  on   all   they  fought  for.   and  the  wealth 
That  clothes  the  land  they  received,— these,  though  mute 
As  feeling   ever   is,   when   deepest — these 
Are  monuments   mure   lasting  than   the  tombs 
Reared  tn  the  kings  and  demi-gods  of  old."" 

The  wife  of  Ebenezer  Robinson  was  Hannah  Ackley,  of 
whom  not  so  many  facts  are  known  to  her  descendants.  She 
was  born  Dec.  22.  1771,  at  East  Haddam,  Ct.,  and  when  a 
girl  of  twenty-one,  in  her  father's  new  home,  near  South 
Reading,  on  Xov.  18,  1/9-2.  she  married  her  young  hus- 
band, a  little  over  four  years  older  than  herself,  and  w^ent 
with  him  to  his  hillside  farm. 

She  is  rememl)ered  by  her  grand-children  as  a  quiet, 
serene,  cheery  old  lady  who  made  an  ideal  grandmother  at 
their  Thanksgiving,  and  other  festive  occasions.  Her  hus- 
Ixmd  left  a  fine  tribute  to  her  memory,  when  he  said  that  he 
had  lived  sixty-six  years  in  contentment  and  happiness  with 
the  wife  of  his  choice  and  had  never  wished  to  change  his 
lot  for  that  of  any  other.  She  died  h>b.  loth,  1858,  sur- 
viving her  husband  not  (|uite  fonr  months. 

^Children:  Lewis  Robinson,  b.  Aug.   19th,  1793:  d.  Xov.   i6th,  1871. 
Calvin     Robinson,    b.    Jan.     10,     1798;     d.     March    28, 

1819. 
Jonas  Robinson,  b.  Dec.  15th.  1794:  d.  Dec.  .^ist,  1794. 
Marvin  Robinson,  b.  ALarch  24th,   1800;  d.  Dec.  22nd, 

1866. 
Ebenezer  Robinson,  b.  Sept.  30th,  1809;  d.  July  5.  1848. 
Rhoda   Robinson,  b.    Feb.   8th,    1796    (never   married)  ; 

d.  Oct.  2 1  St,  1873. 
Sally  Towin  Robinson,  b.  Sept.   19th,  1802;  d.  Oct.  6, 

1816. 
Hannah  Robinson,  b.  Jan.  20th  1805   (never  married)  ; 

d.  April   19th.    1873. 
Eliza  Robinson,  b.  May  20th,  1807;  d.  Dec.  13th,  i860; 
m.  Washington  Keyes,  Sept.  29,  1831. 

*The  dates  concerning  the  immediate  family  of  Ebenezer  Robinson  are  taken 
from  the  old  family  P.ible,  inherited  by  the  oldest  son  of  the  oldest  son,  and  now 
in    the   possession    of    Mrs.    Calvin    L.    Robinson,    Jacksonville,    Florida. 


CHAPTER  II. 

WILLIAM    ROBINSON,    OF    NEWTON. 

TJie  Earliest  Knou'n  Direct  Ancestor  of  Ehenezer 
Robinson. 

Shrouded  in  the  mists  of  the  far  past,  it  has  been  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  any  certain  knowledge  of  the  personality  of 
"William  of  Newton,"  sometimes  called  "William  of  Water- 
town."  The  few  facts  here  cited  have  been  obtained  with 
more  difficulty  than  all  contained  in  the  remainder  of  this 
little  book.  There  is  no  record  of  the  birth  of  William  Rob- 
inson in  Massachusetts  Colony.  There  is  one  tradition  that 
he  came  from  Bristol,  England,  which  could  easily  arise  if 
he  sailed  from  that  port,  but  the  tradition  of  the  family  of 
Ebenezer  Robinson  is  that  he  came  from  the  north  of  Eng- 
land. It  is  probable  that  he  was  born  about  1640,  and  mar- 
ried in  this  country  about  1667,  Elizabeth  Cutter  (b. 
July  15,  1643),  a  daughter  of  Richard  Cutter,  a  well 
known  freeman  of  Cambridge.  In  the  records  William 
Robinson  is  styled  sometimes  "of  Watertown,"  sometimes 
"of  Cambridge"  and  sometimes  "of  Newton."  This  con- 
fusion is  not  difficult  to  understand  when  the  uncertain 
boundaries  of  the  early  towais  are  kept  in  mind. 

A\"atertown  is  the  oldest  of  these  towns.  As  early  as 
Sept.  7,  1630.  less  than  ten  years  after  the  landing  of  the 
Pilgrims,  "The  Court  ordered  that  the  town  upon  the  Charles 
River  be  called  WatertoAvn."  It  was  the  fourth  town 
formed  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  and  next  to  Dor- 
chester was  the  earliest  to  keep  formal  records.!  When 
Cambridge  was  formed,  part  of  Watertown  was  given  to  it, 
and  William  Robinson  lived  in  that  part  of  Cambridge  called 

f'Watertown  Records,  prepared  for  publication  by  the  Historical  Society, 
Watertown,    1894." 


18  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

Cambrido^e  X'illage.  which  afterward  l^ecame  Xewton.  His 
farm  lay  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Charles  River,  separ- 
ated by  it  from  the  W'atertown  of  his  time. 

All  three  towns,  Watertown,  Cambridge,  and  Newton, 
have  records  more  or  less  complete  of  William  Robinson 
and  his  family.  Evidently  he  was  a  freeman  of  Cambridge 
Village,  which  later  became  Newton,  so  we  prefer  to  call 
him  "William  of  Newton. ":j: 

The  inhabitants  of  Cambridge  Village  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river,  as  early  as  1654,  began  a  movement  to  separate 
from  Cambridge,  and  for  thirty-five  years  the  struggle  did 
not  cease  until  thev  obtained  what  they  wanted.  Finally 
fifty-two  freemen  of  Cambridge  Milage  petitioned  the  Gen- 
eral Court  (commencing  ]\Iay  8,  1678)  "to  grant  us  our 
freedom  from  Cambridge  and  that  we  may  be  a  t(nvnship 
of  oursehes  without  any  more  dependence  upon  Cambridge 
— and  that  you  would  please  give  the  place  a  name."=''- 

This  petition  commonly  called  "The  Petition  of  Seces- 
sion," was  granted,  Cambridge  Village  was  set  off  from 
Cambridge,  and  later  was  christened  New^town,  taking  the 
former  name  of  Cambridge.  \\'illiam  Robinson  was  the 
eleventh  name  of  the  fifty-two  sturdy  signers  of  the  Peti- 
tion. At  that  time  there  were  sixty-five  freemen  in  Cam- 
bridge Milage. 

To  become  a  freeman  in  those  early  days  was  deemed  by 
the  fathers  a  boon  greatly  to  be  desired.  If  their  descend- 
ants had  guarded  the  sacred  rights  of  citizenship  as  carefully 
through  the  years  as  did  they,  the  present  days  of  the  Re- 
public would  not  present  so  many  problems.  To  procure 
this  privilege,  a  man  had  first  to  be  or  to  become  a  member 
of  the  church ;  then  he  must  obtain  permission  to  become  a 
fieeman  from  the  General  or  Quarterly  Court,  after  w^hich 
the  freeman's  oath  was  taken  before  a  magistrate.  A  note  of 
the  ceremony  was  then  carefully  entered  in  the  town  record. 

"The  Records  of  the  Town  of  Cambridge,    (formerly 

iSmith's   Hist,   of   Newton,   p.    41.    gives   the   names   of   the   settlers   of  the   town, 
-previous   to   1700,   and   William   Robinson   is   marked    "1679." 
*Jackson's   History   of   Newton,   p.    60. 
♦History  of  Cambridge,  by  L.  R.  Paige,  Cambridge,  1S77,  p.  89. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  19 

Newtowne)  1630-1703,  printed  by  order  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, 1901,"  does  not  once  mention  William  Robinson  who, 
as  we  have  learned,  lived  at  Cambridge  Village  away  from 
the  central  part  of  Cambridge.  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
quiet,  peaceable,  law-abiding  citizen,  and  the  signing  of  the 
"Petition  of  Secession"  is  the  only  publicly  assertive  act  of 
William  Robinson,  so  far  as  history  can  prove. 

His  father-in-law\  Richard  Cutter,  was  of  quite  another 
stamp.  He  was  admitted  freeman  June  2.  1641,  and  was 
made  a  member  of  the  "Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Co."  of  Boston  in  1643.  The  "Town  Records  of  Cambridge" 
mention  Richard  Cutter  thirty-eight  times  for  various  rea- 
sons. He  seems  to  have  been  a  wheel-wn'ight  by  trade,  as 
one  of  the  entries  state  that  the  town  grants  timber  to  Rich- 
ard Cutter  for  a  "payre  of  wheeles."  Again  he  is  granted 
permission  to  fell  "foure  trees  for  his  trade  on  the  South 
side  the  river."  Again  a  grant  of  land  was  divided  among 
the  freemen  and  Richard  Cutter  receives  eighty  acres. 

Richard  Cutter  w^as  also  a  signer  of  the  petition  pre- 
sented October  19,  1664,  to  the  honored  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts,  which  while  assuming  loyalty,  manifested  the 
same  unwillingness  to  submit  to  arbitrary  government  that 
was  exhibited  a  hundred  years  later.  Evidently  he  was  an 
active  man  of  affairs.  The  first  wife  of  Richard  Cutter  was 
Elizabeth  Williams,  some  facts  about  wdiom  are  worthy  of 
preservation  for  her  descendants.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Robert  Williams  and  Elizabeth  (Stalham)  Williams  and 
was  born  in  England  about  1626.  Robert  Williams  was 
born  alx)ut  1607.  The  record  of  William  Williams  of  Hat- 
field, England,  says  that  the  embarkation  records  reads: 
"April  8,  1637.  Robert  Williams,  Cordwyner  (  Cordwainer 
— i.  e..  shoemaker)  of  Norwich  Co..  Norfolk,  England,  in 
the  'John  and  Dorothy'  of  Ipswich,  ^^'illiam  Andrews,  Mas- 
ter.    For  New  England  to  Inhabit." 

Robert  Williams  settled  in  Roxbury,  was  admitted  free- 
man in  1638,  and  died  Sept.  i,  1693,  at  86  years  of  age.  He 
was  the  common  ancestor  of  many  distinguished  men  who 
have  honored  the  countrv.    He  had  a  son  named  Isaac  (born 


20  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

Sept.  I,  1638),  who  o\vne<l  a  farm  of  500  acres  in  the  west 
part  of  Newton  (now  Auburndale),  near  the  farm  of  Will- 
iam Robinson.  He  also  had  a  son  named  Stephen,  born  Nov. 
28,  1640. 

Elizabeth  Williams  was  daughter  of  Robert  Williams, 
and  great  grandmother  of  Ebenezer  Robinson. 

She  was  admitted  to  the  church  in  Roxbury  in  1644  and 
married  about  the  same  time  to  Richard  Cutter,  of  Cam- 
bridge, and  died  June  15,  1693.  In  his  will  Richard  Cutter 
asked  to  be  buried  by  the  side  of  his  wife  Elizabeth.  Their 
gravestones  are  still  standing  in  the  graveyard,  near  Harvard 
Square,  Cambridge,  Mass.  Of  such  good  ancestry  came 
their  eldest  daughter,  Elizabeth  Cutter,  born  July  13,  1645, 
who  became  the  wife  of  William  Robinson  as  early  as  1667.* 

The  Middlesex  (Mass.)  Probate  records  give  us  the  only 
glimpses  we  have  into  the  life  and  character  of  Wm.  Robin- 
son. He  made  a  wdll  dated  March  22,  1693,  the  will  being 
made  and  witnessed  on  his  death-bed.  in  which  he  bequeathes 
all  his  "estate  lands,  goods  and  Chatties  here  in  Watertown 
to  my  dafter  Elizabeth."  and  states  that  "my  two  children 
David  and  Jonathan  shall  have  their  maintenance  and  be 
carefully  brought  up  by  my  dafter."  In  this  will  Wm.  Rob- 
inson, twenty-one  years  of  age,  Mary  Robinson,  about 
twenty  years  of  age,  and  Samuel  Robinson,  about  fifteen 
years  old.  were  left  without  mention.  David,  then  seven- 
teen years  old.  was  lame  and  helpless,  and  Johnathan  was 
thirteen  years  of  age.  This  will  was  presented  for  probate 
June  26,  1693,  bnt  was  disallowed  on  account  of  informality. 
The  probate  records  state  that  it  was  probated  later,  Nov. 
21,  1698. 

Evidently  Wm.  Robinson,  Jr.,  the  oldest  son  was  not 

*NoTE — The  identity  of  the  wife  of  William  Robinson  has  occasioned  con- 
siderable search  to  verify  the  fact  that  she  was  Elizabeth  Cutter.  Richard 
Cutter  was  married  twice;  first  as  we  have  seen  to  Elizabeth  Williams.  He  mar- 
ried as  his  second  wife,  Frances  Perriman,  widow  of  Isaac  Amsden,  Feb.  14, 
1663,  who  survived  him.  Each  wife  was  the  mother  of  seven  children.  We 
find  by  the  records  in  those  early  days  that  in  case  of  a  second  marriage  it  was  not 
unusual  to  have  two  children  by  the  same  name,  one  by  each  wife.  So  Richard 
Cutter  was  the  father  of  Elizabeth  Cutter,  b.  July  15,  1645,  who  became  the 
wife  of  William  Robinson,  of  Newton,  and  the  eleventh  child,  Elizabeth  Cutter, 
b.   March   1,   1669,   who  became  the   wife  of   Nathaniel    Hall,    of    Medford. 

The   Middlesex    (Mass.)    Probate    Records   make   these   facts   plain. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY. 


21 


satisfied  with  the  will,  and  had  himself  appointed  adminis- 
trator Oct.  21,  1695.  and  he  swears  to  the  inventory  of  the 
estate  as  here  given. 

"This  is  an  inventory  of  the  whole  esteat  of  wilham  Robeson  of 
watertwin  in  the  county  of  midlesex  taken  this  14  of  August  1695 
and  apprised  by  us  the   subscribers 


huse  and  Lands  and  orchid  30. 

for    worcking    touiles    of    Iron  i. 

for  beden  and  all  things  argrabell  to  it  2. 

and   for  oukl  hunber  o. 
and    for   Jron    and   brass    poute   and 

citelles     2. 

and  tabels  chistes  and  weeles  i. 

and   for   tobes   and   braller  o. 

and    for   puter   and    wooden    dishses  i. 

and   for   gunn   and   amies  i. 

and   for  books  o. 

and   for  one  hoge  i. 

and  for  money  2. 


43.         17.         0. 
Apprised  the  day  and  yer  abouesayed  By  us 

Alickell    tYlagge  and 
Samuel   Bigelo.'' 

That  \Vm.  Robinson  wanted  to  shield  himself  from 
unjust  judgment  on  the  part  of  his  older  children  and  his 
friends  is  shown  by  the  following  entry : 

"Charlestowne,  Nouembr  21;  1698. 
Thomas  Woolson  and  Frances  Fullam.  the  two  witnesses, 
swear,  'which  was  ommitted  b}-  ye  scribe  being  in  haste  and  for- 
getting to  enter  ye  same  according  to  his  Deced's  Direction  in 
ye  will  and  that  then  ye  said  Wm.  Robinson  when  he  so  did  was 
of  good  understanding  and  of  disposing  minde,  then  declaring  it 
his  omission  of  his  other  children  in  sd  will  was  not  for  want  of 
aflfection  to  ym.  but  only  out  of  his  undue  Care  for  ye  providing 
for  his  lame  cliilde  and  also  3'e  youngest  that  was  not  Capable  of 
help  it  Selfe  and  yt  Goodwife  Sanders,  Elizabeth  Stimpson  &  other 
women  were  in  and  about  ye  house  till  said  will  was  makeing  and 
read  to  ye  deacese  and  to  his  full  Conteent  and  Satisfaction 

Jiirator  Cora 

JAS   RUSSELL" 


22  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

Hie  division  of  the  estate: 

"9  May  1698.  Isaac  Williams  Phillip  Shattuck  and  Abraham  Brown 
Come   appointed  by  the  court  return  division  of  the  Robinson  estate,  viz. : 

"The  housing  and  fences  being  now  out  of  repaior  and  Sum 
of  ye  land  worne  out  and  the  moueables  being  worne  and  sum  of 
them  loste  in  consideration  of  the  Land  being  A  Small  parcel  and 
not  capable  of  being  deuided  without  ye  damnifymg:  and  Spoileing 
of  ye  whole,  whereupon  the  eldest  son  of  the  abousesd  william 
Robeson,  deceast,  claiming  his  1)irth-right  which  the  law  of  this 
province  alowes,  he  haueing  alredy  taken  administration  on  said 
Estate,  we  order  william  Robeson  eldest  son  of  William  Robeson 
decease  to  take  the  at  one  mentioned  twelue  acres  of  land  and 
houseing  and  all  that  properly  belongeth  thereto  and  also  all 
ye  moueables,  and  after  all  just  debts  are  paid  and  necessary 
charges  alowed  the  remainder  to  be  divided  into  seven  equal  parts, 
and  that  the  eldest  son  pays  to  each  of  his  brethren  and  sisters 
their  propertion.  reseruing  to  himself  his  duble  portion,  according 
to  the  direction  of  the  law.  22:8:98  considered  of,  allowed  and 
entered." 

As  is  seen,  at  the  time  of  William  Robinson's  death  he 
possessed  only  twelve  acres  of  land,  bnt  his  thrifty  son  Will- 
iam must  have  added  to  it,  as  on  the  map  of  Newton  for 
1700  (see  map)  the  Robinson  farm  is  given  as  200  acres. 

The  above  are  the  sole  records  that  touch  directly  upon 
the  life  and  character  of  "William  of  Newton."  There  are, 
however,  in  the  Middlesex  (Mass.)  Deeds,  many  identifying 
references.  Abstracts  Vol.  XXXIII :  MDX  (Mass.)  Deeds, 
p.  113.  "William  Robinson  of  Newton,  and  Jonathan  Rob- 
inson of  Lexington  acknowledge  all  rights,  etc.,  in  the  estate 
of  their  honored  grandfather,  Richard  Cutter,  sometime  of 
Cambridge,  deceased."  "William  Robinson  engages  to  dis- 
charge the  claim  of  his  sister,  Elizabeth  Gregory,  a  grand- 
daughter and  heir  to  the  saiue."    8  Jan.,  1726. 

P.  118,  "Samuel  Robinson  of  AIarll)oro,  as  heir  to  his 
father,  William  Robinson,  dec'd,  and  his  mother,  Elizabeth 
Robinson,  alias  Cutter,  quitclaims  all  interest,  etc.,  in  the 
estate  of  his  grandfather,  Richard  Cutter,  formerly  of  Cam- 
bridge, deceased.     20  Jul.  1728." 

Are  we  not  justified  in  inferring  from  the  above  facts 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  23 

certain  qualities  of  Wm.  Robinson?  He  evidently  must  have 
had  enterprise  and  courage,  as  a  young  man,  to  seek  his  for- 
tunes in  the  New  W'orld.  He  must  also  have  had  substan- 
tial good  qualities  of  character  to  secure  as  a  wife  Elizabeth 
Cutter,  the  granddaughter  of  Robert  Williams,  the  daughter 
of  Richard  Cutter,  and  niece  of  Isaac  Williams,  all  well 
known  and  respected  citizens.  He  was  a  good  and  loving 
father,  taking  especial  pains  to  have  his  older  children  under- 
stand why  he  made  exclusive  provision  inr  the  vounger 
helpless  ones. 

Those  early  days  of  the  Colony  were  filled  with  hard 
work  and  privation.  The  settlers  had  to  endure  the  rigors 
of  a  severe  climate,  work  hard  to  subdue  the  land  and  strug- 
gle to  maintain  their  local  and  general  political  rights. 

AMlliam  Robinson  must  have  died  about  sixty  years  of 
age.  after  a  life  of  toil  and  struggle,  leaving  a  small  estate, 
but  he  reared  a  family  of  children,  who  were  sensible,  able 
men  and  women,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  lame  son 
David,  they  were  able  to  take  their  part  in  the  world's  work. 
A\'illiam,  who  remained  in  Newton,  Samuel.  \\ho  remo\ed 
to  Cambridge,  and  Jonathan,  who  settled  in  Lexington, 
were  all  founders  of  families  who  have  provided  good  citi- 
zens and  practical  men  of  affairs,  and  quite  often  dis- 
tinguished leaders  for  the  communitv. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WILLIAM    ROBINSON'S    CHILDREN. 

The  children  of  WiHiam  and  EHzabeth  Cutter  Robinson 
were  as  follows  :     * 

1.  Elizabeth,  b.    1669;    m.    Dec.    20,    1693,   Daniel    Maggrigge    of 

Watertowii. 

2.  Hannah  Ann,  b.  July  13.  1671 ;  d.  Oct.  5,  1672. 

3.  William,  b.  July  10,  1673. 

4.  Mercy,  b.  Aug.  7,   1676. 

5.  David,  b.  May  23,   1678.     "Lame  and  helpless." 

6.  Samuel,  b.  April  20,  1680. 

7.  Jonathan,  b.  April  20,  1682. 

.Ml  the  children  except  Hannah  were  living"  at  the 
tniie  of  William  Robinson's  death,  but  evidently  his  wife 
had  previously  died,  as  we  see  from  his  will,  that  his  sole 
reliance  for  the  care  of  the  two  helpless  children  was  "my 
dafter  Elizabeth,"  the  oldest  child,  then  a  young  woman  of 
twenty-six  years.  Her  father  died  in  March,  and  the  records 
show  that  the  following  December  she  married  "Daniel 
Maggrigge  of  Watertown."  The  name  Maggrigge  was 
evidently  a  corruption  of  IMcGregor,  and  later  generations 
have  adopted  Gregory. 

David,  "lame  and  heljiless,"  a  boy  of  fifteen,  continued 
to  live  with  his  sister  for  four  years,  until  April  9,  1697, 
when  from  the  "Watertown  Records,"  Vol.  H.  pp.  114  and 
121,  we  learn  that  he  lived  for  a  time  with  Samuel  Begelo, 
and  then  Joseph  Lovewels.  He  remained  single.  There  are 
no  further  records  concerning  him,  and  as  his  brothers  be- 
came more  prosperous,  it  is  probable  that  they  assumed  his 
entire  care. 

*The  record  of  the  children  of  William  and  Elizabeth  Robinson  is  best 
preserved    in    Hist,    of    Cambridge,    L.    R.    Paige,    p.    644. 


SECTION    OF    PLAN 


TOWN   OF  NEWTON 

IN   1700 

Showing  Farm  of  William  Robinson,  now  a  part  ok  Auburndale. 


Taken  from  a  map  in  the  History  of 
the  Early  .Settlement  of  Newton,  Mass., 
by  Francis  Jackson,  1854. 


Scale,  tjo  Rods  to  an  Inch. 


26  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

William  Robinson.  Jr.,  third  child  and  oldest  son  of 
"William  of  Xewton."  evidently  remained  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  added  to  it.  We  have  seen  that  he  applied  to  have 
his  father's  will  set  aside  and  insisted  on  his  right  as  the 
oldest  son  to  have  a  "duble  jX)rtion,"  which  was  granted  him. 

The  estate  was  divided  May  9,  1698,  and  the  land  is  men- 
tioned as  twelve  acres.  But  the  Robinson  Farm  marked  on 
the  plan  of  the  town  of  Newton  in  1700  (see  map)  gives  200 
acres  to  the  Robinson  farm.  Smith's  His.  of  Xewton  has 
some  paragraphs  relating  to  this  farm,  which  we  will  here 
quote. 

"A  survey  of  the  map  of  1700  furnishes  a  good  view  of  the 
division  of  the  territory  of  Newton  among  the  early  proprietors, 
and  of  the   relative   hication   of  their  estates."     Page    115. 

"Southwest  I  if  the  Fuller  farm  w-as  Capta  n  Isaac  Williams 
(1659),  five  hundred  acres.  All  the  names  in  this  trace  of  land, 
in  the  map  of  1700,  were  on  the  easterly  side.  Isaac  Williams, 
Jr.  1686):  John  Knapp  (1688);  Captain  Isaac  Williams  (1861). — suc- 
cessors, Colonel  Ephraim  Williams  (1714),  (founder  of  Williams  Col- 
lege).    Page   118. 

"Southwest  of  Captain  Isaac  Williams  was  the  Robinson  farm 
about  two  hundred  acres,  covering  the  territory  since  called  Au- 
burndale,  and  extending  to  Charles  River.  On  this  territory  stood 
Nathaniel  Whittemore's  tavern  (1724),  the  Bourne  House,  at  the 
southeast  part:  then  John  Pigeon,  Henry  Pigeon,  Joel  Houghton, 
north  of  the  tavern;  near  the  middle.  William  Upham  (1740), 
Elisha    Seaverns.    Elisha    Ware;    near   the    northeast    part.    Will-am 

Robinson     (1678) .    successors,    William    Robinson.    Jr.     (1705), 

John  Robinson  (i753),  Jonathan  Williams  (1767),  Elisha  Hall,  AI. 
Collier."     Page   118. 

Evidently  William  Rolnnson,  Jr.,  had  the  gift  of  ac- 
quisition, and  became  a  man  of  substance,  judged  by  the 
standards  of  his  age. 

"Robinson,  William  ( d.  1754)  by  will,  dated  Dec.  25th.  1742. 
proved  iMarch  11,  1754.  bequeathed  house,  barn,  and  seventy- 
nine  acres  of  land  in  Newton  to  his  son  Jeremiah;  fifty-eight  and 
a  half  acres  to  his  son  J(din;  to  son  Ichabod  £660.  He  had  a 
large  farm  at  what  is  now  Auburndale.  and  land  in   Mendon.     One 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  27 


of  his  sons  lived  on  the  site  of  the  Seaverns  house;  one  in  the 
Bourne  house,  once  a  tavern,  and  one  in  the  house  enlarged  for 
the  former  Newton  Poor  House.  His  real  estate  was  appraised 
at  £722i-5sh.     Personal,  £ioi4-i7sh.-6d."  f 

William  Robinson,  Jr,,  was  a  selectman  of  Newton  for 
the  year  1735,  and  that  he  was  a  man  of  consideration  in 
the  community  is  manifest.  His  wife  died  in  1747,  and  he 
died  in  1754.  at  81  years  of  age. 

Their  children  are  as  follows : 

William. 

Daniel,  m.  Mercy  Seger.  1726. 

Jeremiah,  h.  Oct.  22,  1705;  d.  1754. 

Elizabeth,  b.  Sept.  11,  1707,  m.  Wm.  Uphani  from  Maiden,  ?ilarch, 

1741. 
Hannah,  b.  Sept.  16,  1709. 
JosiAH,  b.  Sept.  17,  171 1. 
Ichabod,   b.    Sept.    2,    1713,    m.    Sarah    Alirick,    Feb.,    1744,    went    to 

Mendon  and  died  1756. 
Thankful,  b.  Sept.  3,  1715. 
John,  b.   1722. 

Samuel,  the  sixth  child  of  William  Robinson,  had  a  note- 
worthy line  of  descendants.  He,  himself,  must  have  been  a 
capable,  energetic  man,  for  in  1707,  when  he  was  2^  years 
of  age,  he  bought  a  house  and  three-cjuarters  of  an  acre  at 
the  S.  W.  corner  of  Battle  Square  and  Brattle  Street,  in 
Cambridge,  where  he  kept  a  tavern  until  June  13,  1721. 
when  he  sold  his  estate  and  moved  to  Westborough,  where 
he  died.  Administration  was  granted  to  his  wife  Elizabeth. 
April  24,  1724,  and  her  l^rother,  Jedekiah  Brigham.  was 
appointed  guardian  to  the  only  son,  Samuel,  then  in  his  19th 
year,  Feb.  25,  1725.  The  name  of  Samuel  Robinson  is 
enrolled  among  the  inn-keepers  of  Cambridge,  as  having 
received  a  license  from  17 14- 1720.* 

His  son  Samuel,  the  only  one  who  survived  him,  was 
brought  up  in  the  busy,  bustling  life  of  his  father's  tavern. 
Noting   how   prominent,    and   aggressive,    and   public-spir- 

tHist.    of    Newton    Mass.      S.    F.    Smith.    D.    D.,    Boston,    1880. 
*Hist.    of    Newton,    p.    401.      Jackson 


28  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


ited  was  Samuel  Robinson,  Jr.,  we  recognize  the  l^roaden- 
ing-,  stimulating  effect  of  his  environment,  which  must  have 
early  made  him  familiar  with  the  prominent  men  of  his 
time  and  the  events  that  were  happening. 

Samuel  Robinson,  son  of  William  Robinson,  was  twice 
married;  first  m.  Mar.  23,  1704,  to  Sarah  Manning  (b. 
Aug.  26,  1681,  d.  July  19,  1709),  whose  father  was  a  man 
of  means  and  a  Representative.* 

Second,  m.  Oct.  16.  171 1,  to  Elizabeth  Brigham,  daugh- 
ter of  Capt.  Samuel  Brigham,  of  Marlborough. 

Children:    Sarah,  bap.  July  22,  1705;  died  young. 
Samuel,  b.  April  4.   1707. 
Dorothy,  b.  April  19,  1709. 
Persis  b.  Sept.  7,  1712. 

Edmund,  b.   June   7,   1714,   d.   Nov.  25,   1716. 
Sarah,   b.    Oct.    3.    i/i/- 

At  his  death  in  1724  his  only  surviving  son  Samuel  was 
then  in  his  19th  year.  Samuel  Rol)inson,  Jr..  b.  April  4, 
1707,  m.  May,  1732,  Mercy  Leonard.  His  children  are 
recorded  in  Hard  wick,  Mass.,  and  their  names  are  as 
follows : 

Elizabeth,  b.   Dec.  24,   1733. 

Leonard,   b.    July    16,    1736. 

Samuel,  b.  Aug.  9,  1738. 

Moses,  b.  March  15,  1741.  settled  in  Bennington,  and  was  the 
first  Colonel  of  iMilitia  in  Vermont,  was  first  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  Senator  in  Congress,  and  second  Governor  of  the 
State.  Received  the  honorary  degree  of  A.  ]\I.  at  Yale  College,  1789, 
and  at  Dartmouth  College  in   1790;   died   May   19,   1813. 

Paul,  b.  Dec.  17,  1743;  d.  1754. 

Sn.AS,  b.  March  17,  1746;  Revolutionary  soldier;  d.  at  an  advanced 
age  at  St.  Albans,  Vt. 

Mercy,  1).  Oct.  8,  1748;  m.  Colonel  J.  Safford. 

Sarah,  b.  Nov.   13.   1751  ;  m.  first  Benj.  Fay;  2d.,  Gen.  H.  Swift. 

David,  b.  Nov.  4,  1754;  m.  three  times,  was  in  the  Bennington 
Battle,  afterward  Major-General  of  Militia  and  L^.  s.  [Marshal  for 
eight  years,  and  sheriff  for  22  years;  d.  November,  1843. 

J0N.A.THAN,   b.    Aug.   24.    1756;   was   Chief   Justice   of   the    Supreme 

*  Note. —See  the  History  of  the  Manning  Family,  by  Wm.  H.  Manning,  Salem 
Press,  J902.    Page  142. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  29 


Court,  1801-1807,  and  United  States  Senator.     Received  honorary  degree 
of  A.  M.  at  Dartmouth  College,  and  d.  Nov.  3,  1819. 
Anna.  b.  Oct.  4,  1759;  m.  Isaac  Webster. 

Samuel  Robinson,  the  father  of  this  large  family,  was  a 
man  of  marked  individuality  and  left  his  impress  upon  the 
men  and  events  of  his  times.  He  removed  to  Harchvick  in 
1735  and  remained  there  until  1761.  While  there  he  was 
selectman,  assessor,  town  clerk  and  deacon.  He  was  Captain 
of  a  military  company  in  the  old  French  war,  and  in  1748 
was  stationed  at  Fort  George.  On  his  return  to  Massachu- 
setts by  the  Hoosac  River  route,  he  was  attracted  by  the  fer- 
tility of  the  country,  so  that  later  he  induced  a  company  of 
his  associates  to  join  him  in  purchasing  a  former  grant  of 
this  territory,  made  l)y  Governor  Benning  W'entworth  of 
New  Hampshire  in  honor  of  whom  Bennington  was  named. 
In  October,  1761,  he,  his  family  and  friends  removed  to 
Bennington,  where  he  became  prominent  politically  and  was 
appointed  first  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Mr.  Robinson  cast  in  his  fortunes  with  the  original  set- 
tlers of  the  New  Hampshire  grants  in  the  famous  land  grant 
controA-ersy  between  New  York  and  New  Hampshire,  in 
which  New  York  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  territory  of 
Vermont.  He  was  chosen  as  a  bearer  of  a  petition  to  King 
George,  signed  by  over  a  thousand  settlers  asking  for  relief 
against  the  New  York  patents.  Sailing  on  Christmas  Day, 
1766,  after  a  six  weeks'  passage,  he  reached  London,  and 
succeeded  in  obtaining  an  order  from  the  King,  dated  July 
24,  1767,  prohibiting  the  Governor  of  New  York,  "upon 
pain  of  his  Majesty's  highest  displeasure  from  making  any 
further  grants  whatever  of  the  lands  in  question  until  his 
IMajesty's  further  pleasure  should  be  known,  concerning  the 
same."  Later,  in  Octol)er,  he  was  seized  with  smallpox  and 
died  Oct.  zy.  1767,  and  was  buried  in  London. 

Tlie  family  of  Samuel  Robinson  has  been  prominent  in 
the  annals  of  Vermont''^  and  has  been  described  as 
follows:  "The  most  remarkable  among  a  number  of 
\^ermont    families   prolific   of   pul)lic   usefulness — a    family 

*Men    of    \'ermont,    Transcript    Pvib.    Co.,    1S94,    p.    54. 


30  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

that  has  in  the  past  century  furnished  two  governors,  two 
United  States  senators,  six  judges  of  one  degree  and  an- 
other, the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
the  state  in  three  different  generations,  and  United  States 
marshals,  generals,  colonels,  state's  attorne}S.  town  clerks, 
etc.,  almost  without  number." 

Aloses  Robinson,  second  Governor  of  X'ermont.  left  six 
sons,  the  fourth  of  whom  was  Xathan,  a  lawyer  who  died  at 
the  age  of  forty.  His  son,  John  S.  Robinson,  the  only  Demo- 
cratic Governor  of  X'ermont  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
was  born  at  Bennington,  Xov.  lo,  1804.  He  graduated  at 
Williams  College,  became  a  lawyer  and  identified  himself 
with  the  Democratic  party,  and  was  Governor  for  1853- 1854. 
In  i860  was  Chairman  of  the  Vermont  delegation  to  the 
National  Democratic  Con\ention  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  was 
stricken  with  apoplexy  and  died  there  the  24th  of  the  month. 
He  was  a  man  of  a  high  order  of  talents. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

JONATHAN    ROBINSON. 

Jonathan  Robinsdn.  the  youngest  child  of  "W'ilHam  Robi- 
son  of  Newton,"  was  l^orn  April  20,  1682.  His  father's  will, 
made  upon  his  death  Ijecl,  dated  March  22,  1693,  bequeathed 
all  his  estate  to  "my  dafter,  Elizabeth  Robinson,"  with  the 
provision  that  my  two  children,  David,  "fifteen  years  old, 
lame  and  helpless,"  and  Jonathan,  shall  have  their  mainte- 
nance and  be  carefully  brought  up  by  my  dafter.  The  father's 
heart  went  out  tenderly  to  his  helpless  child,  and  to  his  dear- 
ly-loved youngest  boy,  left  in  the  world  without  a  parent's 
care.  Jonathan  must  have  continued  to  live  with  his  sister 
until  May  16,  1698,  when,  according  to  the  record  made  in 
the  Middlesex  (Mass.)  Probate  records,  "Jonathan  Robin- 
son, a  minor  of  16  years,  made  choice  of  Nath'll  Sparrow- 
hawk  to  be  his  guardian  and  he  accepted."  We  find  from 
the  records  that  Jonathan  Robinson  was  a  weaver.  We 
know  also  that  Isaac  Williams,  his  mother's  uncle  and  a  man 
of  means  and  influence,  lived  on  the  farm  adjoining  that  of 
his  father  and  he,  by  trade,  was  a  weaver.  We  can  infer 
that  Jonathan  learned  his  trade  from  his  uncle.  He  must 
have  been  industrious,  energetic  and  saving,  for  he  both 
married  and  purchased  his  farm  in  Lexington  at  the  early 
age  of  twenty-four. 

The  wife  of  Jonathan  Robinson  was  Ruth  ]\b)rse,  a  few 
words  regarding  whom  must  be  of  interest  to  her  descend- 
ants. She  was  born  April  15,  if)S<4.  and  was  the  daughter 
of  Jonathan  Morse,  born  Nov.  16,  1643,  who  married  Oct. 
17,  1678,  Abigail  Shattuck."  Jonathan  Morse  was  the 
fourth  son  of  Joseph  Morse,  who,  when  he  was  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  embarked  at  Ipswich,  England,  April,  1634,  in 
the  ship  "Elizabeth"  William   Andrews  master.       Joseph 

♦History  of  Watertown,   Henry  Bond,   p.   371    (Genealogies). 


32  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

jMorse  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  W'atertown. 
His  name  is  on  the  earhest  Hst  of  proprietors,  and  he  was  ad- 
mitted freeman  May  6,  1635.  His  father  and  mother,  Joseph 
and  Deborah  Alorse,  came  to  America  probably  a  year  or  two 
later  than  their  son  and  settled  at  W'atertown.  Joseph  Morse 
died  March  4.  169 1.  and  his  estate  was  administered  by  his 
son  John.  It  \vas  from  this  substantial  and  respected  family 
that  Jonathan  Robinson  married  his  wife  of  twenty-two 
years.  June  19,  1706. 

Jonathan  at  once  proceeded  to.  make  a  suitable  home  for 
his  young  wife  and  purchased  a  farm  in  Cambridge  Farms 
(now  Lexington),  which  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his  de- 
scendants. *The  deed  is  dated  Oct.  11.  1706.  Hudson  in  his 
History  of  Lexington,  p.  203,  says :  "It  appears  by  a  deed  in 
possession  of  the  family,  that  Isaac  Powers,  of  Cambridge, 
sold  to  Jonathan  Robinson,  of  Cambridge,  weaver,  in  1706, 
a  lot  of  land  at  Cambridge  Farms,  bounded  northerly  by 
Concord  road,  easterly  by  land  of  Joanna  W'inship,  south- 
erly l)y  land  of  John  Dickson,  and  westerly  by  land  of  Jona- 
than Roljinson,  bounded  by  the  W'inships,  Whitmores  and 
Bowmans,  leaves  no  d(^ubt  but  that  he  resided  on  or  near 
the  place  now  occupied  l)y  Mr.  Jonas  Cammell,  at  the  ter- 
mination of  Oak  Street." 

Cambridge  Farms  was  a  portion  of  Cambridge.  Lex- 
ington was  then  included  in  it.  and  this  part  of  the  town 
appears  to  have  been  regarded  as  the  wood-lots  and  hay  fields 
of  Cambridge.  Lexington  vras  set  aside  and  was  organized 
into  a  town  March  31,  171 3,  a  few  years  after  Jonathan  Rob- 
inson settled  there. 

From  the  reference  in  Hudson  to  "other  deeds"  it  is  prob- 
able that  Jonathan  Robinson  accumulated  some  property  and 
it  is  also  probable  that  the  house  that  Jonathan  originally 
built  had  been  replaced  by  the  ample,  well-built  structure  that 
stood  on  the  hill  seventy  years  later  at  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lution. 

The  present  possessor  of  the  old  farm  homestead  at  Lex- 
ington, Mass.,  is  Mr.  Joseph  Franklin  Gammell,  the  only 

*History   of    Town    of    Lexington.      Charles    niulson,    Boston.    18SG. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY. 


33 


child  of  Franklin  Gamniell,  and  the  orandson  of  Rhoda  Rob- 
inson, so  that  this  farm  has  been  in  the  possession  of  Jona- 


than K(»bins(in's  descendants  nearlv  t\v 


red  \-ear 


The  Site  of  the 


Robinson  Homestead  on  Top  of  the  Hill 
AT  Lexington,  Mass. 


As  viewed  bv  two  of  the  grandchildren  of  Ebenezer  Robinson  August  2,  1902.     George 
O.  Robinson  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  and  Mrs.  Alden  Speare  of  Newton,  Mass. 


August,  1902,  the  writer,  in  company  with  two  grandchildren 
of  Ebenezer  Robinson  (viz..  Mrs.  Alden  Speare,  of  Newton 
Centre,  Mass.,  and  Mr.  George  O.  Robinson,  of  Detroit, 
Mich.),  visited  the  site  of  the  old  house.  Mrs.  Speare  said: 
"I  visited  here  often  in  my  girlhood  days  and  I  well  remem- 
ber the  old  place.  It  must  have  been  a  fine  house  at  the  time 
it  was  built,  and  was  kept  in  good  repair  until  it  was  burned. 
The  walls  of  some  of  the  rooms  w^ere  originally  pannelled,  so 
that  one  not  familiar  with  the  house  could  not  tell  where 
were  the  cupboards. 


34 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH 


At  the  time  the  British  soldiers  came  to  Lexing-ton  this 
house  was  raided  and  a  mark  or  dent  was  made  on  one  of 
these  panels  where  a  suldier  had  struck  it  with  his  gun  to  see 
if  there  was  a  cupboard  behind  it.  In  modernizing  the  finish 
of  this  room  that  panel  was  preserved  as  a  relic." 

'Mv.  George  O.  Rol)inson  said  :  "1  well  reiueml)er  talking 
with  mv  grandfather,    hd)enezer   Robinson,  about  the  early 


The  Lane  Down  Which  Young  Ebenezer  Robinson  Ran  to 

Watch  the  British  Soldiers  Retreat  from 

Lexington  Battlefield. 


davs  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  and  his  telling  me  that  as  a 
boy  he  heard  the  guns  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  and  he 
used  to  describe  how  he  ran  down  the  lane  leading  from  the 
farm  house  to  Main  street,  to  see  the  I5ritish  soldiers  retreat- 
ing on  the  turnpike  road  to  Boston." 

The  Robinson  house  was  located  on  a  hill,  reached  bv  a 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  35 


lane  (the  lower  ])art  of  which  is  now  known  as  Oak  street  in 
East  Lexington),  climbing  upward  from  Main  street.  The 
site  commands  a  pleasant  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 
The  house  and  all  the  adjoining  buildings  were  burned  in 
March.  1886.  and  the  cellar,  only  partially  filled  in,  marks 
its  site.  Doubtless  many  records  that  would  have  added 
much  to  this  sketch  perished  with  the  place,  as  Mr.  J.  Frank- 
lin Gammell,  the  owner,  states  that  the  only  valuable  paper 
he  possesses  is  the  old  deed  of  the  farm  dated  Oct.  11,  1706. 

Hudson  states  that  Jonathan  Robinson  filled  the  honor- 
able ofiice  of  Tythingman  in  1735,  and  in  1744  was  on  a 
committee  "to  dignify  and  seat  the  meeting  house."  He  died 
in  1753  and  his  wife  Ruth  followed  him  April  2-,,  1759.  His 
will,  dated  Feb.  2,  1748,  was  proved  Feb.  18,  1758. 
The  children  of  Jonathan  and  Ruth  were  as  follows: 

Jonathan,  b.  July  25,   1707.      (See  below.) 

Ruth,  b.   June  29,   1709;   d.   Oct.  2^,   1722. 

Abigah.,  b.  Feb.  4,  171 1;  baptized  June  24.  171 1;  m.  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  of  Lexington. 

James,  b.  Aug.  30,  1715;  bap.  Sept.  4,     (See  below.) 

Lydia,  b.  Aug.  29,   1718;  bap.   Sept.  7;  m.  Caleb  Sinionds 

Hannah,  b.  Jan.  8,  1721  ;  bap.  Jan.  14;  d.  Oct.  24,  1721. 

SONS    OF    JONATH.VN    ROBINSON. 

In  all  the  histories  and  books  on  geneology  that  I  ha\'e 
consulted,  it  seems  to  be  the  practice  to  follow  the  history 
of  the  sons  who  bear  the  family  name.  The  hist(M-y  of  the 
daughters  is  merged  into  that  of  their  husbands,  so  that  there 
is  little  to  be  learned  concerning  them.  Following  this  pro- 
cedure let  us  learn  what  we  can  concerning  the  two  sons  of 
Jonathan  Robinson,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  and  James.  Jonathan,  the 
elder  son,  will  chiefly  be  remembered  as  being  the  great 
grandfather  of  (iov.  George  D.  Robinson  of  iNIassachusetts. 
The  line  of  descent  is  as  follows : 

Jonathan  Robinson,  b.  July  25,  1707;  d.   174S:  m.  Elizabeth. 
ChUdroi:    Elizabeth,  m.   June.   20,   1732. 

Jacob,  b.   Feb.  3,   1739. 

Jonathan,  b.  Sept.  29.  1733. 

Submit,  bap.  July  17,  1743. 


36  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

Of  these  we  will  follow  the  line  only  of  Jacob,  the  oldest 
son,  who  married  Elizabeth  Draper.  They  were  added  to 
the  church  March  21.  1775. 

Children:    Jacob,  b.  Oct.  2S.   1762;   d.   Sept.   12,   1848. 

Elizabeth,  b.  March  6.  1765;  d.  Dec.  29,  1767. 
Jesse,  b.   July   14.    1767;   m.   Rebecca   Tidd. 
Jonathan,  b.  June  20,   1769,  was  twice  married. 
Bettv.  1).   Feb.  26,   1772:   m.   White,  of  Watertown. 
Anna,  h.  June  28,  1774:  "i-  Gardner,  of  Cambridge. 
Nathan,  h.   Dec.    i,    1776;   d.   Sept.  22,   1776. 

We  will  again  follow  the  line  only  of  Jacob,  the  oldest 
son,  who  married  Aug.  26,  1790,  Hannah  (Tufts)  Simonds. 

Children  :     Jacob,  b.  April  24,  1791. 

Charles,  b.  May  5,  1793;  d.  Sept.  24.  1801. 

Hannah,  b.  April  25,   1795;  m.  April  8.   1821,  Charles 

Tufts,  founder  of  Tufts  College. 
John,  b.  April  30,  1797;  d.  Sept.  22,  1891. 
George,  h.  Dec.  2,  1799;  d.  Sept.  22.  1801. 
Charles,  b.  ^lay  5,   1802:   d.   May  22,   1886. 
John,  b.  Aug.   19.   1804. 
Harriet,  b.  Nov.  6,   i8c6. 
]Marv  Ann,  b.   Feb.  2.   181 2. 

Of  these  we  will  note  only  the  descendants  of  the  seventh 
child,  Charles,  whose  second  son  became  the  governor  of  his 
state. 

Charles  married  Oct.  16,  1827,  Mary  Davis  [daughter 
of  Abel  and  Lavinia  (Hosmer)  Davis], 

Children:    Charles,  b.  Nov.  6,  1829. 

George  Dexter,  b.  in  Lexington.  Jan.  20.  1834;  f'-  Feb. 
22,   1896. 

The  early  education  of  George  Dexter  Robinson  was  in 
Lexington,  afterwards  in  the  Hopkins  Classical  School  at 
Cambridge.  He  entered  Harvard  College  in  1852,  graduat- 
ing in  the  class  of  '56  with  high  rank.  He  became  principal 
of  the  High  School  at  Chicopee,  Mass,,  remaining  until  1865, 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  37 


when  he  entered  the  law  ofifice  of  his  brother,  Hon.  Charles 
Robinson,  Jr.,  in  Charlestown.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  Cambridge  in  March.  1866,  and  returned  to  Chicopee,  en- 
gaging in  the  practice  of  law. 

In  1874  he  was  Representative  in  the  Massachusetts  Leg- 
islature, in  '76  served  in  the  State  Senate.  In  '76  as  Repub- 
lican candidate  he  was  elected  Representative  from  the 
Eleventh  Congressional  District  to  serve  in  the  Forty-fifth 
Congress,  and  afterwards  to  the  Forty-sixth  and  Forty- 
seventh.  Here  he  became  one  of  the  ablest  members  as  a 
presiding  officer,  and  easily  came  to  the  front  as  debater  on 
the  rules  and  points  of  order. 

At  the  Republican  State  Convention,  Sept.  19,  1883,  Mr. 
Robinson  was  unanimously  nominated  for  Governor,  and 
entered  upon  the  memorable  campaign  against  Gen.  Butler, 
which  resulted  in  his  election;  w^as  re-elected  in  '84  and  '85, 
serving  three  years.  At  the  close  of  his  services  as  Governor, 
and  after  ten  years  of  public  life,  he  resumed  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Springfield,  with  his  son,  who  was  after- 
wards his  partner. 

November  24,  1859,  he  was  married  to  Hannah  E., 
daughter  of  William  Stevens,  of  Lexington ;  she  died  Sept. 
5,  1864. 

July  II,  1867,  he  married  Susan  E.,  daughter  of  Joseph 
F.  Simonds,  of  Lexington. 

His  son,  Walter  Stevens  Robinson,  was  born  March  22. 
1861,  graduated  at  Amherst  in  '84;  married  Miss  Sarah 
Homans,  and  resides  in  Springfield.  His  daughter,  Annie 
Florence,  born  October  41,  1869,  graduated  at  Smith  College 
in  91,  and  is  the  wife  of  Herbert  W.  Wright,  of  Springfield. 
Mass. 

Mr.  Robinson  received  the  degrees — A.  B.  (Harvard, 
'56)  ;  A.  M.  (Harvard,  '59)  ;  L.  L.  D.  (Amherst,  '84)  ;  L.  L. 
D.  (Harvard,  "86). 

He  was  an  eminent  Governor,  one  of  the  leaders  at  the 
Bar,  and  was  universally  esteemed  and  trusted.  He  led  a 
very  active  and  busy  life,  and  in  the  midst  of  honorable 
work  and  duties  was  suddenly  stricken  with  apoplexy,  dying 


38  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

at  his  home  in  Chicoj^ee  after  a  short  ilhiess.  Feb.  22,  1896, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-two.* 

JAMES  ROBINSOX. 

James  Robinson  (son  of  Jonathan),  as  the  father  of 
Ebenezer  Robinson,  merits  a  larger  notice  than  we  shall  be 
able  to  give  to  his  life,  for  the  recorded  facts  are  few.  and 
there  is  no  other  knowledge  of  him  extant  which  we  have 
been  al)le  t(j  obtain.  The  farm  e\'idently  descended  to  him 
and  he  must  ha\'e  there  lived  a  (|niet  life  of  contentment  in 
daily  duties.  He  married  three  times,  and  had  eleven  chil- 
dren.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Church.  ?\Iarch  10.  1765. 

James  Robinson  married  May  2t,.    1751.   Anna  Trask. 

She  died,  and  he  married  Margaret .  by  whom  he 

had  eight  children.     She  died  Xov.  5.  1767.  and  he  married 

third,  Elizabeth .  by  whom  he  had  three  children. t 

He  died  Aug-.  12,  1774. 

CHILDREX  OF  JAMES  AND  MARGARET. 
Ruth  Robinson,  b.  Jan.  2S,  1753. 
Joseph     Robinson,    1).     3ilarch     1755;     Soldier    of    Revolution;     d. 

July   5.    1784. 
Silas,  b.   Feb.  20,   1757;   m.  Lydia. 
Asa.   b.   Jan.    19.    1759:    Soldier   of  Revolution   in   the   campaign   to 

New  York,   1776. 
James,  b.    Xov.   26,    1760;   m.   May  25,   1787,  Judith   Reed,   of  Wo' 

burn;    Soldier  of  the   Revolution. 
Rhoda,  b.  ]May  10.  1763;  d.  young. 
Ebenezer,  b.  Feb.  ij,  1765;  d.  1857. 
Persis,  b.  Jan.  25.  1767;  liaptized  Feb.   i.   1767. 

CHILDREX  OF  JAMES  AXD  ELIZABETH. 

Jonas,  b.   ^lay   18.   1770;  Ixaplized  Dec.   5,   1773. 

Rhoda.  baptized  Oct.  20.   1771  ;  m.  Simeon  Snow,  ^lay  24,  1781. 

Lvdia,  b.  Jan.  2,  1773. 


*For  the  above  facts  of  Governor  Robinson's  career,  acknowledament  is  due 
to  his  widow,   Mrs.    Susan   E.    Robinson   of   Chicopee,    M.iss. 

tThe  records  of  early  colonial  days  were  generally  carefully  kept,  but  as 
tiine  passed  on,  less  care  was  exercised,  and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  exact  names 
and  dates  increases.  We  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  family  names  of  the 
second   and   third   wives   of  James    Robinson. 

Note — The  facts  concerning  the  last  three  children  are  incorrectly  given  in 
Hudson's    Lexington.      Cambridge    records   are    here    followed. 


40  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


It  will  thus  be  seen  that  James  Robinson  had  four  sons 
who  served  as  patriots  in  the  Revolutionary  war — Joseph, 
Asa.  James  and  Ebenezer.  His  oldest  son,  Joseph,  was  a 
member  of  Capt.  Parker's  company  and  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  the  first  act  of  the  Revolutionary 
drama.*  He  married  Mrs.  Betty  Hadley,  the  widow  of  his 
comrade,  Samuel  Hadley,  who  was  killed  in  battle  on  the 
immortal  April  19,  1775,  at  the  battle  of  Lexington.  Joseph 
Robinson  enlisted  with  the  eight  months'  men  in  1775.  and 
served  with  the  twelve  months'  men  the  year  following,  and 
subsequently  entered  the  Continental  Army. 

Hudson  says  :  "He  lived  to  enjoy  the  bounty  of  his  coun- 
try and  to  see  her  prosperous  and  happy,  and  died  April  14, 
1830.     His  wife  died  Feb.  9,  183 1." 

Children:  Rhoda,  b.  May  17,  1781  ;  m.  May  17,  1810.  John  Gam- 
mell.   of   Charlestown.  and   d.   Sept.    11,   1861. 

iNlARGARET,  b.  Feb.  20.   1783. 

Nancy,  b.  Jan.  30.  1785;  m.  July  20,  1809,  Thomas 
Cutter,  of  West  Cambridge. 

Joseph,  b.  July  14.  1787;  m.  Lydia  Gair,  of  Boston;  d. 
May  18.  1822. 

John  Ciammell,  the  husband  of  Rhoda  Robinson,  born 
Nov.  12,  1785.  died  Oct.  i,  1866,  was  the  son  of  William 
Gammell,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  (b.  1750)-  They 
were  married  ]\Iay  17,  18 10. 

Their  children  were : 

John,  b.  Jan.  13,  1812. 

Eliza,  b.  Aug.  21,  1813;  d.  July  14,  1848. 

Franklin,  b.  May  29,   1815;  d.  Feb.  22,  1842. 

Eben,  b.  :\Iarch  7.   1817:  d.  May,   1890. 

Margaret  Ann,  b.  Nov.  i,  1818;  d.  Nov.   12,  1850. 

Jonas,  b.  Oct.   10.  1820;  d.    (1878?). 

Lucy,  b.  Jan.   i,  1822:  d.  Dec.  22.   1889. 

James  Robinson,  Jr.,  who  was  the  brother  and  comrade 
of  Ebenezer.  and  settled  with  him  in  South  Reading,  Vt.,  in 


•Note — His   name   is   found   on  the   Roll   of  the  Company  in   Hudson's   History 
of    Lexington,    p.     383. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  41 


1788,  had  a  large  family  of  children  whose  hist(jry  does  not 
properly  come  within  the  scope  of  this  sketch.  He  married 
Judith  Read  and  their  children  were  as  follows : 

James  Robinson,  b.  Nov.  26th,  1761.  Lexington,  Mass.;  m.  May  25, 
1787;    d.    Nov.   29th    1836. 

Judith  Reed  Robinson,  his  wife,  b.  ]\L'irch  6th,  1768.  \\'()l)urn, 
r^Iass. :  d.  Jan.  27th,  1857. 

Children  : 

James,  Jr.,  b.   March  20tli,   1788;   d.  April    19th,   1847. 

Lucy  F.,  b.  Dec.  8th.   1879;   d.   Sept.  4th,   1869. 

Ebenezer,  b.  April  8th,  1791  ;  d.  ^.larch  ist,  1883: 

Mary  Reed,  b.  Dec.  17th.  1792;  d.  May  i6th,  1842. 

Betsy,  b.  Oct.  3rd,  1794;   d.  Dec.  12th,   1842. 

Sally,  b.  May  19th,  1797;  d.  Sept.  nth,  1814. 

Nancy,  b.  Nov.  27th,  1798;  d.  July  25th,  1893. 

Lydia,  b.  Nov.  23rd,  1800;  d.  Aug.  31st,  1886. 

Ezra  and  Lois,  b.  Dec.  8th.   1802;   Ezra  died  June  26th,   1875; 

Lois  died  June  14th,  1888. 
Eleanor,  b.  Jan.  22nd,  i8c6;  d.  June  25th,  igco. 
RosiLLA,  b.  July  29th.   1809:  d.  Dec.   17th,   1891. 
Allen  Reed,  b.  April  28th,  181 1  ;  d.  Oct.  6th,  1840. 
Noah  B.,  b.  July  2nd,  1813;  d.  Oct.  ist,  1839. 

James  Robinson  and  his  wife  lived  and  died  in  Reading' 
and  their  large  family  mostly  lived  and  died  in  that  vicinity. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CHILDREN    OF    EBENEZER    ROBINSON. 

Tlic  Oldest  Sou,  Lewis  Robinson,  and  Descendants. 

Of  the  children  <jf  Eljenezer  Robinson  we  note  that 
Jonas  died  in  infancy.  Sally  Town  when  a  girl  of  fourteen, 
and  Calvin  when  a  promising  young  man  of  twenty-one 
years.  Two  unmarried  daughters.  Hannah  and  Rhoda, 
continued  to  live  in  the  old  homestead,  and  both  died,  ad- 
vanced in  vears.  in  1873.  The  nephews  of  Rhoda  Robinson 
speak  of  her  as  an  ideal  maiden  aunt.  kind,  affectionate  and 
sprightly.  Although  quite  deaf,  she  was  active  and  indus- 
trious and  helpful  to  her  many  relatives. 

Lewis  Robinson,  the  oldest  son.  became  a  man  of  prom- 
inence in  his  native  town.  The  following  sketch  of  his  Hfe 
was  written  by  his  oldest  son.  Calvin  L.  Robinson,  for  "The 
Historv  of  Reading."' 

"Lewis  Robinson  (1).  Aug.  19.  1793:  d.  Xov.  16.  1871), 
was  the  eldest  child  of  Ebenezer  and  Hannah  Ackley  Robin- 
son. He  was  raised  on  the  farm  cleared  by  his  father,  being 
employed  nine  months  in  the  year  in  tilling  the  land,  and 
attending  school  for  three  months  in  the  winter.  To  these 
advantages  for  an  education  were  added  one  term  at  the  old 
Academy  at  Duttonsville.  and  another  at  a  High  School  in 
Granville.  X.  Y. 

The  sons  and  daughters  of  the  early  settlers  of  \>r- 
mont  were  content  to  build  their  homes  around  their  ances- 
tral hearth  stones,  and  the  subject  of  our  sketch  with  his 
live  brothers  and  sisters,  all  settled  in  or  near  the  village  of 
South  Reading.  \T..  lived  and  died  there,  and  were  buried 
in  the  old  village  graveyard  on  the  hill.  Lewis  Robinson 
proved  himself  a  man  of  marked  ability  and  energy.  Soon 
after  he  came  of  age  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  book 
publishing,  establishing  a  printing  office  at  Greenbush.     He 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  43 


publislied  a  iuiinl)er  of  works  there,  and  soon  after  went 
into  the  copper  plate  printing  and  the  pnbHcation  of  maps 
and  Scripture  paintings  at  South  Reading.  In  the  map 
manufacture  he  found  a  large  lield.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
extensive  copper  plate  map  publishers.  In  1836  with  two  of 
his  brothers-in-law,  he  established  a  large  map  publishing 
house  in  Akron.  Ohio.  In  1839.  he  opened  a  store,  and 
soon  after  built  a  starch  mill  and  carried  on  starch  manu- 
facturing. 

In  1844,  he  established  a  branch  of  his  map  business  at 
Stanstead,  Lower  Canada,  and  pul)lished  there  Canadian 
maps.  In  truth  Lewis  Robinson  showed  a  business  capacity 
of  an  uncommon  order. 

In  politics  he  was  a  staunch  Whig  until  the  organization 
of  the  Republican  party,  wdien  he  found  himself  in  sympathy 
with  this  new  movement  and  voted  with  the  party.  For 
himself  he  would  never  seek  nor  accept  an}-  political  office. 
He  was  not  a  man  of  man}-  words.  l)ut  took  a  serious  view 
of  life,  and  went  about  ever}-thing  with  the  air  of  one  who 
feels  he  has  a  mission  to  perform  on  earth,  and  an  acconiit 
to  render  for  his  stewardship  here.  For  many  years  he 
was  a  faithful  member  of  the  Methodist  Episconal  Church. 
He  lixed  to  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years  and  died  at  his 
residence  in   South  Reading,   Nov.    i6th,    187 1. 

.\mong  the  sons  of  Reading  who  remained  in  their  native 
hills  none  showed  greater  ability  and  jierseverance  than 
Lewis  Robinson.  The  former  prosperity  of  South  Reading- 
was  mainly  due  to  his  efforts,  and  even  yet  the  marks  of 
the  enterprise  of  Lewis  Robinson  stand  in  his  native  village 
to  attest  to  his  vigorous  character,  rugged  and  strong,  like 
the  hills  of  his  native  state." 

Sarah  Manning,  wife  of  Lewis  Robinson,  was  born 
Aug.  6th,  1803,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Levi  Manning,  of 
Cavendish,  Vt.  He  was  born  in  Townsend,  Mass.,  July 
29th,  1766,  and  was  the  seventh  generation  from  William 
Manning,  who  came  to  America  about  the  year  1634  and 
settled  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  and  whose  grandson.  Samuel, 
settled  in  Billerica,  Mass.,  on  the  old  Manning  homestead 


X    '£, 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  45 


which  is  preserved  and  remains  in  tlie  Planning'  family  to 
this  dav.  This  history  of  this  family,  numbering"  6,014 
persons,  is  fully  given  by  William  H.  Manning,  of  Ayer, 
Mass..  in  a  volume  entitled,  'The  Manning  Fainily/  pub- 
lished at  Salem.  Alass..  1902, ""  page  292.  Sarah  [Manning- 
married  Lewis  Robinson,  Oct.  25,   1825. 

]\Irs.  Robinson  was  a  woman  of  unusual  character  and 
energy,  and  an  excellent  wife  and  mother.  She  was  gifted 
in  mind  and  unselfish  in  disposition,  sacrificing  her  own  com- 
forts in  order  that  her  children  should  be  well  educated.  She 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  them  all  comfortably  situated  in 
fife.  She  was  a  great  lover  of  music,  and  was  an  able  and 
influential  woman  in  her  village — was  an  active  memljer 
of  the  [Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  always  full  of  good 
works.  She  survived  her  husband  over  twenty-one  years, 
and  during  much  of  this  time  she  lived  during  the  winter 
with  some  one  of  her  children  and  in  summer  at  her  old 
homestead  in  South  Reading,  where  she  died  peacefully 
while  making  preparations  for  the  celebration  of  her  nine- 
tieth birthday." 

Lewis  and  Sarah  Rdljinson  had  seven  children.  Their 
v^escendants  are  recorded  as  follows: 

L  Carolixe  [\L\lvixa,  h.  April  25th,  1827.  She  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  afterward  at  the  Chester 
Academy  and  at  Xewburv  Seminar^•,  finishing  with  a 
musical  course  in  the  Boston  Conser\-atory  of  [\rusic.  Sub- 
sequently she  was  teacher  df  music  at  the  Springfield  (\  t.) 
AVesleyan  Seminary  and  taught  two  or  three  terms  of  select 
school.  She  was  married  ALarch  ist.  1849,  to  Alden  Speare, 
of  Boston,  [Mass.,  and  by  him  was  the  mother  of  seven  chil- 
dren. 

Alden  Speare  ( b.  Oct.  26.  1825,  d.  ]^Lar.  22,  1902),  was 
born  at  Chelsea,  Vermont,  and  was  of  sterling  New  England 
stock.  His  father,  a  physician,  was  a  man  of  great  energy, 
business  capacity  and  of  staunch  Christian  character,  who 
died  at  the  early  age  of  fifty-one.  when  Alden.  the  older  son, 
then  attending  Xewbury  Seminary,  felt  compelled  to  leave 
school  to  settle  his  father's  estate. 


46  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

For  nearly  fifty-eight  years  he  identified  himself  with 
the  commercial,  educational  and  religious  interests  of  Bos- 
ton. Mr.  Speare's  success  in  business  is  manifested  by  his 
prominent  connection  with  the  great  enterprises  of  railroad 
building,  being  director  for  many  years  of  the  Santa  Fe  & 
Mexican  Central  R.  K.  Systems.  His  judgment,  energy, 
and  foresight  were  potent  factors  in  the  establishment  of 
several  important  railway  lines.  He  was  also  the  second 
mayor  of  the  City  of  Newton. 

Alden  Speare  was  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episc(:i)al  Church,  was  lay  delegate  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1888,  and  became  t)ne  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of 
the  Missionary  Societ}'  of  that  denomination.  He  also  did 
much  work  in  connection  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  being  President  of  this  Association  in  Boston  in 
1857,  and  also  of  the  Boston  Wesleyan  Association  f(jr 
many  years.  Since  1872  Alden  Speare  has  been  a  Trustee 
of  Boston  University,  to  which  he  contributed  noble  gifts. 
His  benefactions  were  large  to  many  other  educational  and 
charitable  institutions. 

Alden  Speare  was  a  man  noted  for  his  business  and  per- 
sonal integrity.  But  greater  than  his  business  capacity  and 
his  tireless  ser\ice  for  every  good  cause,  is  the  unsullied  char- 
acter he  lM)re  through  life.  He  died  suddenlv  at  Pasadena, 
Cab,  Mar.  22(1,  igo2.  The  following  were  the  children  born 
to  Mr.  and  Airs.  Speare: 

1.  Sarah  Jane,  Ijorn  August  22nd.  1851,  and  died  Sept.   14th,   1851. 

2.  Herbert  Alden,  born  Aug.  27th,  1852.  He  was  married  June  14th, 
1875,  to  Rhoda  H.  Rrickett,  of  Newton  Centre,  Mass.,  and  became  a 
business  man  of  much  prominence,  entering  the  firm  of  Alden  Speare's 
Sons  &  Co..  of  Boston.     He  died  Oct.   14th,  1887. 

'J'heir    children    are: 

Florence,  b.  June  6,  1876. 

Emma,  1).  Sept.  28,   1879;  m.  Feb.  19,  igoi,  to  Frederick  Gould 

and  to  them  a  daughter  Lois  was  born  April  5,  1903. 
Alden  Hei'.kert.  b.  May  18,  1883. 

3.  Emma  Caroline,  b.  Dec.  8th.  1855;  m.  Oct.  3rd,  1876,  to  Rev. 
William  Edwards  Huntington,  and  died  March  3rd,   1877. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  47 


4.  Ella  Maria,  b.  March  j8th,  1858:  m.  May  loth,  1881,  Rev.  Will- 
iam  Edwards   Huntington. 

William  Edwards  Huntington  was  born  in  Hillsborough,  Illinois, 
July  30th.  1844.  He  served  in  two  campaigns  in  the  war;  in  1864,  as 
private  in  the  40th  Wisconsin  and  as  First  Lieutenant  in  1865  in  the 
49th  Wisconsin  Regiment. 

He  was  graduated  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin  in  1870,  obtain- 
ing there  his  degrees  of  A.  B.  and  A.  M.  From  the  Boston  University 
he  received  the  degrees  of  S.  T.  B.  and  Ph.  D.  He  preached  in 
Nahant,  Jamaica  Plains,  Rosindale,  Newtcn,  Harvard  St.  Church, 
Cambridge,  and  in  Tremont  St.   Church,  Boston. 

He  studied  in  Germany  in  1880  for  one  year.  In  1882  he  was 
made  Dean  of  the  College  of  Liberal  Arts  of  Boston  L'niversity. 
On  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Warren,  he  was  elected  Acting  President 
of  Boston  University. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.   Huntington  have  four  children  as  follows: 

Raymond  Edwards,  b.  June  28th.  1882. 

Emma   Caroline,  b.   Jan.    16th,    1884;   died   September.    1884. 

Genevieve,  b.  July  29th,  1892. 

Miriam,  b.  Nov.  21st.   1897. 

5.  Lewis  Robinson,  b.  June  6th,  1861  :  m.  Nov.  20th.  1883,  to  Edith 
Burgess  Holway,  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  W.  O.  Holway.  a  retired  chap- 
lain in  the  LT.  S.  Navv.  Thev  have  one  child,  Caroline  Malvina,  b.  April 
20th,  1885. 

Mr.  Lewis  Robinson  Speare  received  his  education  in  the  Public 
and  High  Schools  of  Newton.  In  1880  he  entered  the  employ  of 
Speare,  Gregory  &  Co..  and  in  1882  was  admitted  as  a  partner.  In 
1886  a  special  partnership  of  Alden  Speare's  Sons  &  Co.  was  formed, 
Mr.  Speare  was  soon  made  senior  partner  of  the  same.  The  business 
has  grown  to  large  proportions,  being  now  an  incorporated  company  with 
houses  in  Boston,  New  York  and  Chicago.  He  is  at  present  the 
President  of  this  Company.  He  is  also  President  and  Treasurer  of 
the  Ashland  Emery  &  Corundum  Co..  and  President  of  the  Crystal 
Springs  Manufacturing  Co.,  and  Wheat  Starch  Co.  Mr.  Speare  is  a 
man  of  large  business  interests,  and  his  success  is  accounted  for  by  the 
devotion  and  ability  that  he  has  given  to  his  interests. 

6.  Minnie  Gertrude,  b.  Oct.  22nd.  1862:  m.  April  25th,  1894,  to 
William  lna;raham  Haven.  Thev  have  one  child.  Gladvs,  b.  July  26th, 
1895. 

William  Ingraham  Haven,  D.  D.,  son  of  Bishop  Gdbert  Haven 
cf  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  b.  in  Westfield,  ^lass.,  Jan.  30.  1856; 
graduated  from  Wesleyan  Academy,  Wilbraham.  Mass..  in  1873; 
from  Wesleyan  University.  Middletown,  Ct.,  in  1877.  and  from 
Bcston  University  School  of  Theology  in  1881.  Entered  the  New 
England  M.  E.  Conference  in  1881,  was  pastor  of  Eggleston  Square 
Church,  Saratoga  St.  Church,  Boston,  and  of  the  Church  in  Newton 
Centre  and  Brookline.  In  18^  he  was  elected  Secretary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society,  which  position  he  still  holds. 


48  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

7.  Edward  Rav.  1).  Sept.  _'i>t,  1872;  m.  Oct.  30ih.  1894,  to  Dorothy 
Simmons,  b.  Felj.  12,  1874.  She  was  graduated  from  Boston  University 
with  the  degree  of  Ph.  B.,  June,  1894. 

:\Ir.  Edward  Ray  Speare  is  ji  graduate  of  the  College  of  Liberal 
Arts,  of  Boston  University.  After  graduating  he  became  connected 
with  the  business  founded  by  his  father  in  1851.  He  is  the  Vice- 
President  and  General  Manager  of  the  Alden  Speare's  Sons  &  Company, 
Secretary  and  Treasurer  nf  the  Water  Paint  Company  of  America. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Boston  University; 
is  Treasurer  of  the  Blair  and  Le  Larm  Veneer  Company:  secretary  of 
the  Ashland  Emery  and  Corundum  Company,  and  director  in  various 
other   industrial   concerns.     His  children  are: 

Albert  Robixsox,  b.   April    uth,   1896. 
Dorothy,  b.  Dec.  13th,  1897. 
ViRGixiA,  b.   Aug.   7th,   1899. 

II.  Calvin  Lewis,  eldest  son  of  Lewis  Robinson,  was 
born  June  3rcl  1828.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  at  the  Newbury  and  Springfield  Seminaries  and  at  the 
Norwich  University,  finishing  with  a  two  years'  course  in 
the  University  of  X^ennont.  He  was  married  March  ist, 
1855.  to  Elizabeth  Seymour,  born  Jan.  28th,  1834,  in 
Broome,  P.  O.  With  failing  health,  he  entered  commercial 
business  in  December,  1857,  settling  in  Jacksonville,  Florida. 
Here  he  carried  on  a  large  commercial  trade,  and  in  the 
early  part  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  was,  with  his  family, 
driven  from  home,  and  his  store  and  dock  were  burned,  to- 
gether with  much  valual)le  property,  by  the  rebels.  He  was 
succored  by  the  gunboats  of  the  United  States  navy,  which 
reinstated  the  h>deral  authority  in  that  locality.  He  was  a 
uTcmber  of  the  National  Republican  Convention  held  in  Bal- 
timore in  1864,  that  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln  the  second 
time,  and  was  a  delegate  to  General  Conference  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  held  in  Balltimore  in  i87r).  He  con- 
tinued his  residence,  as  a  staunch,  loyal  citizen  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, in  that  city  until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred July  4th,  1887.     He  had  the  following  children: 

I.  ARTHfR  Sevmoi-r,  b.  Dec.  2nd,  1857:  m.  Dec.  25th,  1880,  to  Mag- 
gie Mosser.  b.  Oct.  19th,  1859.     Their  children  are: 

Arthur  Mosser,  b.  Oct.  12th,  1881  :  d.  Aug.  21st,  1901. 
Joseph  Albert,  b.  Feb.  iSth,  1890. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  49 


2  Edward  Ikvixc.  1).  Xnv.  i2th.  T859;  ni.  Dec.  i6th.  US84,  to  Alice 
Barber.     Their  children  are: 

Ralph  Howard,  h.  July  2n(l,   1886. 
Carl  Lewis,  b.  Jan.  30th,  1889. 
RFX.INALD  Barker,  b.  July  20th,   1891. 

Edward  Irving,  m.  October,  1894,  to  Lillian  ]\IartiiL  Their  children 
are : 

Solon.  Dec.  5th,  1895. 

Lewis   ]\Iartin,   May  9th,   1897. 

3.  George  Lewis,  b.  Nov.  2nd,  1861  ;  d.  Nov.  7th,  1861. 

4.  William  Calvin,  b.  ^lay  7th,  1864;  d.  Dec.   17th,  1865. 

5.  Annie,  b.  Sept.  ist,  1869:  ni.  June  13th.  1889.  to  Roland  Wood- 
ward, a  civil  engineer;  b.  Oct.  4th,  1868  at  Irvington,  111.  Their  children 
are : 

Roland  Woodward,  Jr..  b.  !\Iarch  20th,   1890. 
Rose  Elizabeth,  b.  Sept.  3rd,  1892. 
Harold  Robinson,  b.  Dec.    nth,  1893. 
Dorothy  Russell,  b.  July  7th,  1895. 

6.  Alice  Manning,  b,  Julv  12th,  1872;  m.  July  i8th,  1896,  to  David 
A.   Disbrow,  b.   Feb.   loth,   1866. 

7.  Ruby  Elizabeth  b.  June  15th,  1875;  d.  Sept.  9th.  1877. 


III.  Eliza  Ann,  second  daughter  of  Lewis  Robinson, 
born  March  29th.  1830.  She  was  educated  as  were 
the  other  members  of  the  family,  and  was  mar- 
ried Sept.  19th,  1849,  to  John  S.  Clark,  of  Lunenburg, 
Vt.,  who  was  born  Sept.  4th.  1822.  They  settled  on  the 
well-known  Judge  Clark  meadow  farm  in  the  oxbow  of  the 
Connecticut  River  in  Lunenburg,  Vt.  At  the  breaking  out 
of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  Mr.  Clark  entered  the  military 
service  of  the  Vermont  Volunteers  and  was  appointed  cap- 
tain of  Company  K,  Eight  Vermont  Volunteers,  Col. 
Stephen  Thomas,  which  regiment  was  ordered  to  New  Or- 
leans in  the  fall  of  1862.  He  performed  military  service 
until  the  following  spring  in  the  expedition  of  Major  Gen- 
eral Butler,  when  he  was  stricken  with  dysentery  and  died 


50  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


in  the  hospital  March  JOth,   1863.     The  fcjllowing  children 
were  l)orn  to  them  : 


Wash 


Lewis   S.  Clark,  b.  Dec.   17th,   1850.   He  now  resides  in   Seattle, 


2.  John  C.  Ci.akk,  h.  June  3rd,  1852.  He  was  educated  in  Detroit, 
Midi.,  wliile  luing  with  liis  uncle,  George  O.  Robinson,  and  afterwards 
returned  to  Vernidiit.  hnr  several  years  he  was  cashier  of  the  Chelsea 
(Vt.)  National  Bank,  and  subsequently  was  cashier  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  St.  Johnslniry,  \l . .  and  represented  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury 
in  the  State  Legislature  in  1894-5.  He  is  now  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  Alessrs.  E.  and  T.  Fairbani<s  &  Co.  Scale  Works,  of  St.  Johnsbury. 
He  was  married  April  14th,  18S1,  to  Lida  PufTer,  of  Grand  Isle,  Vt., 
who  was  born  March  4th.   186.?.     Their  children  arc: 

Robert  Pcffer,  b.  :\Iarch  20th,  1882.  He  was  educated  in  St. 
Johnsbury  Academy  and  is  now  connected  with  the  b'air- 
banks'  Scale  Co. 

Margaret  Robinson,  b.  'Sl^y  islh,  i8<84. 

Arthur  Dana.  b.  March  26th,  1889. 

Dorothea,  b.  Nov.  5th,  1898. 

,3.  Im-ora  Eli.a,  b.  Dec.  12th,  1853.  She  was  married  Nov.  i8th,  1875, 
to  A.  D.  Rowell,  who  was  born  February,  1839,  and  died  June  17th, 
1893,  in  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.  Mr.  Rowell  carried  on  the  Inisiness  of 
jewelry,  silverware  and  watchmaking  in  St.  Johnsbury,  to  which  busi- 
ness   his    wife    succeeded. 

4.  George  Robinson  Clark,  h.  Sept.  9th.  1859.  He  was  educated  at 
the  St.  Johnsbury  Academy,  and  entered  the  profession  of  dentistry. 
He  married  Mona  IMaynard,  of  Northfield,  Vt.,  and  settled  in  his 
profession  in  lioston,  Mass.  He  has  been  a  nieml)er  of  the  celel)rated 
Ruggle   Street    I'.aptist    Church  choir   f(  r  twenty  year<. 

AIrs.  Eliza  Ann  Claiu<  re-married  Xov.  uth,  1871, 
her  second  husl^and  l)eino-  Edward  V.  llrown,  a  merchant 
of  St.  Johns1)tn-}-,  Vt.,  who  was  1)orn  in  E)erlin,  Vt.,  in  1819. 
Both  Mr.  and  Airs.  Bruwn  are  still  residing  in  St.  Johns- 
bury. 

IV.  CjV.okc.e  O.,  second  son  of  Lewis  Rol)ins(3n,  was 
born  at  South  Reading,  Vt.,  June  14th,  183J,  enjoyed  the 
usual  adwantages  of  a  public  school  educati(Mi.  as- 
sisted his  father  in  \arious  dei)artn:ents  of  busi- 
ness and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  c(~)mmenced 
teaching   school    and    studied   to   f\t   himself    for   colleo-e   at 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  51 

Xe\vl)nry  (  Xl. )  Seminary.  He  graduated  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  \'ermont  in  iS^y  as  sakitatorian  of  his  class.  He 
stuched  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1858.  For  two 
}"ears  he  practised  law  in  A\'isconsin,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1861  removed  to  Detroit.  Alichigan,  forming  a  law  partner- 
ship with  David  W.  Brooks  in  1862.  The  firm  made  a 
specialty  of  the  collection  of  claims  upon  the  ( iovernment 
arising  out  of  the  Ci\'il  War.  The  partnership  was  dis- 
sol\"ed  in  1872.  when  the  new  firm  of  Robinson  &  Flinn  was 
formed,  giving  special  attention  to  the  title,  care  and  sale 
of  pine  lands  and  i)ine  land  estates.  He  has  con- 
ducted large  and  important  business  interests,  l:)eing  at  the 
present  time  especially  interested  in  iron  mines.  He  has 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  cit}'  where  he 
has  li\-e(l,  and  for  some  years  was  an  active  meml:)er  of  the 
Board  of  EcUication. 

In  charitable  and  religious  work  he  has  always  l)een 
acti\e.  He  was  one  of  the  original  meml^ers  of 
the  "^^tung  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  has  been  an 
acti\'e  and  inlluential  member  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal 
Church,  ha\-ing  Ijeen  a  la}'  delegate  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  [Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1896,  and  was 
for  a  time  a  member  of  the  important  Book  Committee  of 
the  Church.  He  was  the  organizer  and  principal  founder 
of  the  Alichigan  Christian  Advocate,  and  has  been  for  a 
number  of  years  the  president  of  the  compau}-  which  pub- 
lishes it.  He  has  tra\-ele(l  extensi\-ely  1)oth  in  his  own  coun- 
tr}-  and  in  foreign  lands,  and  has  written  of  his  tra\'els  as 
well  as  of  other  subjects. 

Ceorge  O.  Robinson  married,  Sept.  27,  1859,  Helen 
[Mather,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Atla  E.  Mather, 
the  first  crockery  n-'erchant  of  Detroit.  He  was  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  the  [Mather  famil}-.  well  known  in  the  eai^iy  his- 
tory of  [Massachusetts.  (  See  history  of  the  [Mather  family.) 
Helen  Mather  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Detroit,  and 
also  at  the  well-known  Female  Seminary  at  Burlington,  Vt. 
Her  mother.  Lois  A'ale.  was  a  daughter  of  Lyman  Yale,  of 
Charlotte.  \T..  a  descendant  of  the  brother  of  the  founder  of 


52  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

Yale  College.  She  was  a  woman  of  fine  tastes  and  manners 
and  was  highly  gifted  in  music.  She  died  Jan.  loth,  1890, 
leaving  four  children,  who  still  survive. 

For  his  second  wife,  George  O.  Robinson  married,  jMay 
7,  1891.  Jane  M.  Bancroft,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  George 
C.  Bancroft  and  Caroline  Orton  Bancroft.  She  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  celebrated  school  of  Mrs.  Emma  Willard  at  Troy, 
N.  Y.,  the  State  Normal  School  at  Albany,  and  in  1877  of 
Syracuse  University.  Later  she  obtained  in  course,  upon 
examination,  the  degree  of  Master  and  Doctor  of  Philoso- 
phy. Miss  Bancroft  was  the  Dean  of  the  Woman's  College 
of  the  Northwestern  University,  at  Evanston,  Illinois,  from 
1877  until  1886.  She  spent  the  years  1886  to  1888  at  the 
Universities  of  Zurich  and  Paris,  making  history  a  special 
study.  While  in  Europe  she  became  greatly  interested  in 
Christian  philanthrophy,  and  later  wrote  a  work  entitled, 
"Deaconness  in  Europe  and  Their  Lessons  for  America." 
She  is  at  the  present  time  the  First  Vice-President  and  Trus- 
tee of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  and  Secretary  of  its  Deaconess  Bu- 
reau. Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson  are  greately  interested 
in  philanthropic  work,  in  the  charities  of  Detroit  as  also  in 
many  other  causes. 

The  children  of  George  O.  and  Helen  (Mather)  Robin- 
son are : 

I.  Frederick  Austin,  b.  July  2-/,  i860,  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Detroit  and  at  the  Academy  in  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.  He 
graduated  from  the  Literary  Department  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan in  1882,  degree  A.  B..  and  from  the  Law  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan  in  1883,  degree  LL.  B.  He  was  married  May  3, 
1888,  to  Clara  Louise  Hayes,  of  Detroit,  who  was  born  March  17,  1861, 
daughter  of  Josiah  D.  Hayes,  a  prominent  railroad  official,  originator  of 
the  system  of  through  bills  of  lading  to  foreign  countries  and  an 
authority  on  inter-state  commerce.     They  have  two  children. 

Frederick  H.'\yes,  b.  Aug.  24,  1898. 
]\L\RioN  Louise,  b.  Aug.  16,  1901. 

Mr.  Robinson  is  a  citizen  of  public  spirit,  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  his  city.  He  has  served  ten  years  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Esti- 
mates of  Detroit,  and  one  term  as  the  President  of  the  Board.  He  is 


Further  Facts  Concerning  the  Fa^hly  of 
(jEORGE  O.  ROBINSON 

The  later  years  of  George  O.  Robinson  were  largely  devoted 
to  philanthropy,  especially  to  the  uplift  of  the  lowly  and  the 
interests  of  the  church.  In  1904  he  v\as  a  delegate  to  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Los  Angeles. 
In  the  same  year,  Albion  College  gave  him  the  honorary  degree 
of  LL.  D.  Robinson  Hall  there  continues  his  memory.  The 
George  O.  Robinson  School  for  (jirls  at  San  Juan,  Porto  Rico, 
and  the  Boys'  Industrial  Institute  at  Hatillo,  Porto  Rico,  keep 
his  memory  green  in  that  island.  R(jbinson  Hall,  a  large  Hospital 
Building  in  Washington,  U.  C,  was  named  in  recognition  of 
himself  and  Mrs.  Robinson.  He  entered  into  the  eternal  life 
December   13,   1015. 

Mrs.  CiEORGE  O.  Rorinson  (Jane  Bancroft  Robinson)  in  19U8  was 
elected  President  of  the  V^'oman's  Home  Missionary  Society  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  and  resigned  in  1913  on  account  of  Mr.  Robinson's  ill  health. 
She  was  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conferences  of  1908  and  1920;  was  a 
delegate  to  the  Ecumenical  Conference  in  1911  at  Toronto,  and  appointed 
a  delegate  to  the  Conference  of  1921  at  London,  but  was  unable  to  go. 
In  1919  Syracuse  University  gave  her  the  degree  of  LL.  D.,  up  to  that 
time  the  only  woman  so  honored.  She  is  a  member  of  several  learned 
societies,  Including  the  American  and  Historical  Associations.  Her 
present  home  is  in  Pasadena,  California. 

Frederick  Austin  Robinson,  an  able  an  honored  lawyer,  and  a 
citizen  who  served  well  in  the  city  offices  of  Detroit,  Mich,,  entered  the 
eternal   life  December  30,    1913. 

Mrs.    Frederick   A.   Robinson    now    resides   in    Brookline,    Mass. 

Frederick  H.  Robinson  graduated   at  Williams  College  in   1920. 

Marion   L.  Robinson  graduated   at   Smith   College   in    1922. 

Caroline  Robinson  >  Cheesebrough)  married  September  11,  1918, 
Romaine  Pierson  of  New  York,  a  well-known  publisher  of  medical  books. 

George  A.  Robinson's  two  sons,  George  Mather  and  Lewis  Speare, 
are  now  students  at  Princeton. 

Emm.a  M.ABEL  Robinson  was  married  September  17,  1917,  to  Dr. 
Willard  J.  Denno.  Dr.  Denno  graduated  from  Yale  University,  Class 
of  1903;  from  Columbia  Medical  School  in  1906.  He  is  at  present  Medical 
Director  of  the  Standard   Oil   Company  of   New  Jersey. 

The  original  Sketch  of  the  Robinson  Family  was  published  in 
1Q()3.  Many  facts  ha\e  occurred  since  then  that  have  affected  all 
branches  of  the  family.  At  this  time  the  writer  has  neither  time 
nor  strength  to  re-write  the  entire  history,  but  if  any  member  of 
any  branch  desires  to  write  out  the  facts  affecting  that  famih ,  and 
will  have  one  hundred  and  fifty  inset  pages  printed  (that  being  the 
number  of  books  yet  remaining)  and  send  to  the  writer  before 
February  1,  1923,  they  will  be  placed  in  the  Sketch,  as  are  the 
facts  concerning  the  family  of  George  O.   Robinson. 

(Signed)     Jane  Bancroft  Robinson. 

(Mrs.  George  O.  Robinson) 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  53 


Managing  Director  of  the  Farrancl  Organ  Company,  and  has  been  for 
a  number  of  years  connected  in  Inisiness  with  the  firm  of  Roliinson  & 
FHnn,  Attorneys,  interested  in  pine  and  iron  lands. 

2.  Caroline  Manning,  b.  Ang.  loth,  1863,  was  educated  at  Profes- 
sor Sill's  Detroit  Female  Seminary  and  at  the  Painesville,  O.,  Young 
Ladies'  Institute.  She  was  married  to  George  L.  Chesebrough,  Dec. 
22nd,  1886.  and  has  resided  for  the  last  ten  years  in  the  city  of  Duluth, 
Minn. 

George  L.  Chesebrough  was  born  Feb.  26th,  1862,  in  Sandusky, 
O.,  is  the  son  of  Alfred  Chesebrough,  at  one  time  Controller  and 
Library  Commissioner  of  the  City  of  Detroit,  and  largely  interested  in 
vessel  transportation.  George  L.  Chesebrough  is  engaged  in  the  devel- 
opment of  mining  lands.     . 

3.  George  Alta,  b.  Jan.  nth,  1868,  was  educated  in  the  Detroit  Pub- 
lic Schools  and  graduated  from  the  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  Academy. 
He  afterwards  spent  three  years  in  civil  engineering  on  the  Santa 
Fe  R.  R.,  under  the  direction  of  his  cousin,  Albert  A.  Robin- 
son, chief  engineer  of  the  road.  Later  he  took  the  engineering 
c'^Zy^  at  the  Lhiiversity  of  Michigan,  and  has  since  been  chiefly 
t'.^'^v,-^^  ^d  as  a  civil  engineer  in  the  ofiice  of  the  Detroit  City  Engineer. 
Ho-.tr^-l married  Jan.  5th,  i8gg,  to  Antoinette  Bloom  (b.  April  6,  1872), 
of  i^-  ''-^t,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Nelson  Bloom,  lliey  have  one  child. 
Georgv     'lather  Robinson,  born   Nov.  24th,   1901. 

4.  WitxiAM  Henry,  b.  Sept.  9th,  1874,  and  died  Dec.  loth,  1878.  A 
most  promising  boy. 

5.  Ema!a  Mai'.el,  b.  Nov.  13th,  1876,  was  educated  and  graduated 
from  the  Dt_>troit  Home  and  Day  School,  and  was  later  at  Mt.  Vernon 
Seminary,  Washington,   D.   C. 

The  following  are  younger  children  of  Lewis  and  Sarah 
Robinson : 

V.  Sarah  Jane,  third  daughter  of  Lewis  Robinson, 
born  May  11,  1834,  was  educated  in  select  schools  and  at 
Springfield  Seminary.  She  developed  a  fine  talent  for  paint- 
ing water  colors  and  for  music,  but  was  prematurely 
stricken  with  disease  and  died  March  7,  1855. 

VL  Cornelia  Eglantine,  born  Nov.,  1840,  died  Dec. 
1841. 

VIL     Flora  Ella,  born  March,  1845,  died  Sept.,  1845. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MARVIN    ROBINSON, 

Fourth  Son  of  Ebenezcr  Robinson. 

Compiled  from  a  Sketch  Written  by  liis  Son,   Frank  M    Robinson,  Esq. 
of  Dubuque,  Iowa,  for  "ilie  History  of  Reading. 

"Marvin  Robinson,  the  fuurth  son  and  fifth  child  of 
Ebenezer  Robinson,  was  born  March  24,  1800,  on  what  is 
known  as  the  'Old  Esquire  Robinson  Farm'  at  South  Read- 
ing. Until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  assisted  ^'^•-s 
father  in  clearing  away  the  forests  and  carrying  o  .^\  'r 
farm.  Soon  after  reaching  his  majority  he  commenr  v^,^  ne 
business  of  tanning  in  South  Reading,  and  contii  :d  it 
with  such  success  as  to  accjuire  not  only  what  was  considered 
a  competence,  but  an  amount  sufficient  to  number  him 
among  the  wealthier  men  of  Reading.  Later  he  abandoned 
the  tanner  and  currier's  trade  altogether  and  farming  was 
his  principal  occupation  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

He  filled  several  offices  of  trust  in  his  native  town,  having 
been  seven  times  elected  one  of  the  selectmen,  which  position 
he  was  filling  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  chosen  lister 
one  or  more  years  and  served  his  townsmen  in  other  posi- 
tions of  trust  and  responsibility.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig, 
but  when  the  issues  upon  which  that  party  was  founded  no 
longer  existed,  he  gave  his  vote  and  his  support  to  the 
newly  formed  Republican  party.  He  was  not  a  politician  or 
partisan  farther  than  the  principles  of  his  party,  in  his  judg- 
ment, conduced  to  the  general  public  welfare. 

He  was  a  man  of  great  physical  strength  and  endur- 
ance. \\'hate\er  he  aimed  to  accomplish  he  labored  for  with 
a  perseverance  and  energy  that  distanced  many  a  man  of 
weaker  will  and  less  physical  power.  A  man  of  good  judg- 
ment and  sound  practical  sense  himself  in  regard  to  all  the 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  55 


business  and  duties  that  came  within  the  range  of  his  obser- 
vation, and  measuring  everything  l)y  a  matter  of  fact  test, 
he  entertained  but  poor  opinion  of  all  theories  and  schemes 
in  which  he  could  see  no  tangible  value  or  practical  utility. 

His  early  education  was  limited  to  that  afforded  by  the 
common  schools,  and  a  wider  range  of  scholastic  training  he 
deemed  quite  unnecessary  for  the  successful  business  man. 
His  sons  he  taught  the  hard  lessons  of  self-reliance  and 
economy  by  making  them,  from  early  boyhood,  dependent 
upon  their  own  resources  for  all  beyond  necessary  food  and 
clothing,  and  when  they  reached  manhood,  the  same  austere 
discipline  compelled  them,  unaided,  to  make  their  own  place 
in  the  world  and  be  the  founders  as  well  as  architects  of 
their  own  fortunes. 

His  opinions  he  held  tirmly  and  the  fear  or  favor  of  no 
man  ever  checked  their  free  expression,  while  his  unswerv- 
ing integrity  of  purpose  and  character  were  never  called  in 
question  by  friend,  neighbor  or  townsman.  By  nature, 
stern  and  strong  himself,  his  discipline  and  judgment  of 
others  may  have  sometimes  seemed  to  be  severe,  but  severity 
was  never  allowed  to  overbalance  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
even  scale  of  justice. 

New  England,  almost  from  the  rocks,  has  been  made  the 
Eden  she  is.  through  the  energy,  economy,  perseverance  and 
practical  intelligence  of  men  of  his  type." 

Marvin  Roiiinson  ( b.  March  24,  1800;  d.  Dec.  22,  1866) 
was  twice  married,  ist.  On  Oct.  11,  1826,  to  Lucinda  Ful- 
1am  (b.  Sept.  13,  1797;  d.  Nov.  25,  1839).  They  had  seven 
children.  2nd.  On  Sept.  22.  1840.  to  Charlotte  ^^'ood  (b 
May  2,  1816.  in  Hartland.  Vermont;  d.  April  14.  1899.  in 
Felchville).     They  had  three  children. 

CHILDREN  OF  MARVIN  AND  LUCINDA. 

I.  Eranklin  Marvin  (b.  August  2,  1828;  d.  March 
25,  1885).  who  married  Eel).  3.  1857.  Laura  Goddard 
Spaulding  (b.  May  6.  1832;  d.  June  21.  1889).  Mr.  Robin- 
son graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  class  of  1855.  In  1856 
he  removed  to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  and  practiced  law.     In  1862 


56  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


he  formed  a  ])artnership  with  Austin  Adams,  another  Dart- 
mouth man,  the  firm  l)ecoming  later  "Adams,  Robinson  & 
Lacey."  Mr.  Robinson  was  a  sound  lawyer,  an  excellent 
business  man.  and  actively  interested  in  the  city,  where  he 
lived  for  over  thirty  years. 

1.  May  Goddard,  b.  April  21.  iSTkd;  ni.  Oct.  6.  1879,  to  Judge  Ben- 
jamin W.  Lacey;  b.  :\Iarch  12,  1849,  in  Cayuga  County,  New  York; 
son  of  Dr.  Samuel  Lacey  and  Alary  Woodbury  Lacey.  He  graduated 
from  the  law  department  of  Columbian  College  in  1871  ;  began  the  prac- 
tice of  the  law  in  1872  in  Dubuque;  was  made  a  judge  of  the  District 
Court  in  1878  and  held  this  position  for  five  years.  At  present  is  a 
member  of  the  law  firm  of  Lacey  &  Brown,  President  of  the  Iowa 
Trust  and  Savings  Bank,  and  a  Director  of  the  Gas  Company,  Street 
Railway  and  other  companies.  He  has  been  interested  in  public  insti- 
tutions, having  been  President  of  the  Hospital  and  Library  Boards.  Of 
six  children  born  to  them,  four  are  living,  as  follows  : 

Frank    Robinson,   b.  Feb.  22,  1881,  graduate  of  Harvard,  class 

of    1902,   Harvard   Law    School. 
BuRRiTT  Samuel,  b.  ]\Iarch  4,  1882,  graduate  of  Harvard,  class 

of  1903. 
Clive    Woodbury,    b.  Feb.  4,   1893. 
]\L\RGARET,  b.   April   16.   1899. 

2.  Belle  Fullam,  b.   Aug.   11,   1862;  d.  April  5,   1887. 

3.  Grace,  b.  March  14,  1871  ;  m.  June  2y,  1893,  to  Westel  Woodbury 
Willoughby.  Ph.  D.,  b.  July  20,  1867;  Professor  at  Johns  Hopkins 
University.      Children : 

Westel  Robinson,  b.  Nov.  i,  1895. 
Laura  Robinson,  b.  Alarch  i,  1897. 

II.  Edwix  Auretus,  second  son  of  ]\Iarvin  Robinson, 
was  born  Oct.  i8th,  1829,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  after  arri\ing  of  age  he  settled  in  Boston  and  became 
a  partner  in  the  wholesale  provision  house  of  W.  F.  Robin- 
son &  Co.,  with  his  two  brothers,  and  died  unmarried  Nov. 
8th,  1892. 

III.  Charles  Henry,  the  third  son,  was  born  July 
i8th,  183 1,  was  educated  in  Reading,  settled  in  Boston  and 
entered  the  firm  of  W .  F.  Robinson  &  Co.  with  his  brothers. 
He  was  successful  in  business,  married  in  Boston,  and  died 
April  8th,  1902,  leaving  no  children. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  57 


IV.  \\'allace  Full.\m  Robinson,  the  fourth  son  of 
Alarvin.  was  bom  Dec.  22,  1832,  and  educated  in  Reading, 
and  when  a  young  man  he  entered  business  in  the  pro- 
vision market  in  Boston.  His  business  grew  rapidh'  when 
he  added  to  it  the  wdiolesale  and  packing  business  and  soon 
took  in  partnership  his  two  older  l^rothers  under  the  firm 
name  of  W.  F.  Rol^inson  &  Co.  They  were  ah  good  busi- 
ness men  and  were  very  successful.  AA'allace  F.  Robinson 
has  accumulated  a  handsome  fortune ;  has  l:)een  President  of 
the  Boston  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  and  has  been  honored  in  many  ways.  He  has  now 
retired  from  business  with  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his 
large  circle  of  acquaintances.  He  married  Aug.  19th,  1858, 
Mary  Jane  Robinson  (born  Aug.  20th,  1838),  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Ezra  Robinson,  son  of  James  Robinson,  men- 
tioned as  brother  of  Ebenezer  in  this  sketch.  Their  children 
are  as  follows : 

Fred  W.\lter.  h.  Sept.   10,  1859;  d.  June  7,   1893. 
Harry  Ezra,  b.  Oct.  17,  1872. 

V.  Forrest  Alonzo,  b.  IMav  29,  1835;  d.  March  19, 
1836. 

VI.  :\Iaria  Frances,  b.  Jan.  2,  1837;  m.  Alarch  27, 
1857.  James  Orville  Wdiitten. 

VII.  Elmer  Duane,  b.  July  15,  1838:  d.  Dec.  4,  1893; 
m.  Sept.  14.  1862,  Lorette  C.  Hawkins  (b.  ^ylarch  11,  1838), 
Children : 

Erwin   Elmer,  h.   Aug.  6,   i86s  ;   in.   April   30,   1900.  to   .Serena 

Sheldon,  b.  Oct.  24,  1868. 
Arthur  Hawkins,  b.  ALiy  i,  1874. 

Elmer  Duane,  when  about  two,  years  of  age,  his  mother 
having  died,  w^as  adopted  by  his  aunt.  Eliza  Robinson  Keyes, 
wife  of  Washington  Keyes.  whose  surname,  "Keyes,"  was 
henceforth  his  name. 

He  entered  the  Civil  War  as  lieutenant,  was  promoted  to 


58  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

the  rank  of  captain,  and  his  company,  with  its  regiment,  took 
a  prominent  part  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Mr.  Keyes 
went  to  Rutland,  Vermont,  in  1870,  and  entered  in  the  retail 
grocery  business,  which  gradually  assumed  large  proportions. 
a  wdiolesale  branch  being  also  established.  He  became  the 
head  of  the  largest  firm  in  the  wholesale  grocery  l)usiness  in 
the  State  of  Vermont.  In  June.  1865.  Mr.  Erwin  E.  Keyes 
was  taken  into  partnership.  Air.  Keyes  was  a  man  of  the 
most  thorough  and  painstaking  instincts ;  was  prominent  in 
business  affairs,  was  a  director  in  banks  and  other  financial 
institutions,  and  commanded  to  an  unusual  extent  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  all  who  were  in  any  way  associated  with 
him. 

CHILDREN   OF   MARVIN   AND   CHARLOTTE. 

VIII.  Elroy  Clement,  b.  Jan.  30.  1844;  d.  Oct.  28, 
1885.  He  was  a  merchant  of  \\'eathersfield,  Vt.,  and  a 
member  of  the  Vermont  Legislature. 

IX.  Delia  Ada,  b.  Jan.  24.  1847:  d.  Oct.  29,  1851. 

X.  Addie  Lestina,  b.  Xov.  7,  1852;  d.  Aug.  9,  1873. 


CHAPTER  VII 


EBENEZER    ROBINSON,    Jr. 

Ebenezer  Roliinson,  jr.,  the  youngest  son  of  Ebenezer 
Robinson,  was  born  in  South  Reading,  Sept.  30,  1809.  He 
received  his  eckication  in  the  pubHc  schools,  and  while  a 
young  man  was  an  active  agent  in  the  selling  of  copper-plate 
maps  of  the  States  of  Maine,  Xew  Hampshire,  and  Vermont 
for  his  brother,  Lewis  Robinson,  who  was  then  in  the  map 
publishing  business.  He  developed  excellent  business  quali- 
ties and  good  judgment,  and  married  Jan.  4,  1837,  Adeline 
Williams  (b.  Dec.  19,  1814;  d.  July  18,  1894),  the  daughter 
of  Samuel  W^illiams  and  Polly  Manning,  his  wife.*  After 
marriage  he  settled  on  his  father's  farm,  which  he  carried 
on  in  connection  with  his  father.  He  became  a  citizen  much 
esteemed  in  his  community.  He  evinced  those  thorough 
sterling  qualities  of  integrity  and  mechanical  and  mathemat- 
ical accuracy  wdiich  characterized  his  father,  and  which  have 
since  made  themselves  manifest  in  his  boys,  and  was  holding 
ofifice  of  public  trust  in  the  town  of  Reading  when  he  was 
suddenly  stricken  with  congestion  of  the  lungs  and  died 
July  5,   1849,  lea\'ing  his  widow  and  four  childen. 

In  1853  Mrs.  Adeline  Williams  Robinson  was  married 
to  Mr.  Alba  Childs,  and  settled  in  Wisconsin. 

I.  Stillman  W..  b.  March  6.  1838,  has  been  twice 
married.  On  Dec.  29,  1863,  to  Mary  Elizabeth  Holden 
(b.  Jan.  30,  1839;  d.  July  29,  1885).     Chilidren  : 

1.  EcKKA    Mazala,  b.   Oct.    15,    1869:   m.   June  23.   1892,   Rev. 

Geo.  E.  Rowe.     Four  children. 

2.  Erdis  Geroska,  b.  Dec.  20,   1S72. 

3.  Zella,  b.  Dec.  2,  1877;  m.  June  4,  1902,  to  Otto  F.  Hakes. 

*  Note.— See  History  of  the  Manning  Family.     Page  292. 

59 


60  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

Mr.  Robinson  was  married  April  12,  1888,  to  Mary 
Haines. 

''From  17  to  21  years,  Stillman  \\\  Robinson  served  an 
apprenticeship  as  machinist;  at  2$  he  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Michigan  with  the  degree  of  civil  engineer; 
from  2^  to  28  years,  he  was  assistant  on  the  United  States 
Lake  Survey ;  from  28  to  2,2  he  was  assistant  in  engineering. 
University  of  Michigan;  from  32  to  40,  professor  of  IMe- 
chanical  Engineering  and  Physics,  University  of  Illinois; 
from  40  to  57,  professor  of  Mechanical  Engineering,  Ohio 
State  University,  resigning  in  1895  ^"^^  giving  attention  to 
mechanical  and  scientific  subjects.  In  1896  he  was  given  the 
degree  of  D.  Sc. ;  and  in  1899  was  made  Professor  Emeritus 
in  Mechanical  Engineering,  Ohio  State  University. 

In  1880-84  he  was  inspector  of  railways  and  bridges  for 
Ohio ;  1887-90,  consulting  engineer  A.  T.  &  S.  Fe  R.  R. ;  and 
in  1887  consulting  engineer  for  the  Lick  telescope  and 
mountings. 

From  1862  to  the  present  time  he  has  been  an  inventor, 
having  secured  some  40  patents,  a  goodly  number  of  which 
have  proved  of  value,  especially  the  eight  or  ten  concerned 
in  shoe  manufacture." 

Mr.  Robinson  is  a  member  of  the  Am.  Soc.  Mech.  Eng. ; 
Am.  Soc.  Civ.  Eng. ;  of  Naval  and  Marine  Engs. ;  a  Fellow 
of  the  A.  A.  A.  S. ;  is  author  of  important  articles  in  soci- 
eties and  periodicals;  of  four  of  Van  Xostrand's  Science 
Series;  and  of  a  college  text  book  on  "Principles  and  Mech- 
anism." 

At  the  Centennial,  three  awards  were  granted  on  appli- 
ances of  his  invention,  and  at  the  Columl)ian  Exposition,  two. 

II.  Elna  Alphonse,  b.  Dec.  15,  1839,  was  twice  mar- 
ried. First,  April  2-/,  1861,  at  Gardner,  Mass.,  to  Melora  M. 
Smith  (b.  Oct.  15,  1839;  (1.  Aug.  16.  1885).     Children: 

1.  Sarah  Ann,  b.  ^larch  4,  1862:  d.   March  4.  1862. 

2.  Addie  Eva,  b.  Oct.    17,  1863:  d.  Aug.  27,  1865. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  61 


3.  Gertri'de   Minnie,   b.    Julv   5.    186S;   ni.    Dec.   25,    1887,   to 
W.  L.  Trover,  b.  ;  d.   April  8,  1893.       Children: 

Fannie   F.,   b.    Sept.    27,    1888. 
Mabel,  b.  Oct.  26,   1891. 

4.  Inez    AIary.   b.    Nov.   28,    1872;   m.    Archibald   Boyd,   Aug. 

30,    1881.    Children: 
Bert  Blaine,  b.  Jan.   29,   1891. 
Geo.  Archibald,  b.   Aug.  26,  1892. 
Wilbur  Alphonso,  b.   Feb.  4,  1895. 
Neil  Dow,  b.  Dec.  27,   1897. 
John  Robinson,  b.  July  14,  1900. 

5.  Fannie  Nettie,  b.  Aug.  30,  1881. 

Elna  A.  Robinson  m.  Nov.  30,  1886,  Sem])hrona  E. 
Stage,   (b.  Mar.  4.   1844.) 

From  17  to  21  Mr.  Robinson  served  an  apprenticeship 
as  a  machinist.  In  1870-74  he  attended  the  University  of 
Illinois,  graduating  with  the  degree  of  M.  E.,  when  he  be- 
came assistant  in  Mechanical  Engineering'  at  the  same  insti- 
tution. In  1878  he  became  partner  with  Mr.  E.  M.  Burr  at 
Champaign,  III.,  for  general  machine  construction,  as  well 
as  improving  and  manufacturing  specialties,  and  still  con- 
tinues in  business  in  the  same  city. 

III.  Albert  Aloxzo  Robixsox,  third  son  of  Ebenezer 
Jr.;  b.  Oct.  21.  1844;  twice  married;  first.  Dec.  6.  1869, 
Julia  Caroline  Burdick ;  d.  Aug.  3.  1880.  Second,  married 
September,  1885.  Mrs.  Eliza  Frances  Williams,  and  now 
resides  in  Topeka,  Kan. 

Albert  Alonzo  and  Julia  Caroline  had  one  chiid ; 

Metta  Burdick  Robinson,  1).  July  17,  1876. 

He  was  born  at  South  Reading,  Vt.,  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools,  and  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Michigan  in  1869,  taking  the  degree  of  C.  E.  and  B.  S.,  and 
in  1871,  M.  S.  In  June,  1900,  the  honorary  degree  of  LL. 
D.  was  conferred  on  him  by  his  Ahiia  Mater. 

His  work  on  railroads  began  in  1869,  when  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  St.  Joseph  &  Denver  City  Railroad  as  axe- 
man in  the  engineering  corps,  and  thereafter  served  succes- 


62  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

sively  as  chainnian.  levelman,  transitman.  office  engineer,  lo- 
cating- engineer,  and  as  assistant  engineer  until  April  i,  1871 
Then  he  became  assistant  engineer  of  the  A.  T.  &  S.  Fe  R.  R., 
in  charge  of  location  and  construction,  and  two  years  later, 
April,  1873,  was  made  Chief  Engineer,  which  position  he 
held  until  August,  1890,  during  which  period  he  had  charge 
of  the  entire  construction  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  System, 
including  the  route  through  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Ark- 
ansas. 

From  June,  1883,  to  September  i,  1883,  he  was  Assistant 
General  Superintendent  of  the  same  railroad ;  from  Septem- 
ber I,  1883,  to  March  i,  1884,  he  was  General  Superintend- 
ent; from  March  i,  1884,  to  February  i,  1886,  he  was  Gen- 
eral Manager;  from  February  i,  1886.  to  May,  1888,  Second 
Vice-President;  and  Second  Vice-President  and  General 
Manager  from  May,  1888.  until  May  i,  1893,  when  he  left 
this  system  and  accepted  the  Presidency  of  the  Mexican  Cen- 
tral Ry.  Co.,  which  position  he  still  holds. 

During  his  engineering  experience,  he  has  had  direct 
charge  of  the  construction  of  over  four  thousand  five  hun- 
dred miles  of  railroad  in  all  kinds  of  country,  on  plains  and 
deserts  and  in  mountains  and  mountain  canons.  In  1887, 
the  railroad  from  Pueblo  to  Denver  was  constructed  and 
opened  for  traffic,  116  miles  in  216  days,  and  also  3^10  miles 
of  the  line  from  Kansas  City  to  Chicago  in  276  days. 

Mr.  Robinson  is  a  member  of  the  American  Society  of 
Civil  Engineers.  The  history  of  his  connection  with  the 
Santa  Fe  Ry.  is  of  deep  interest  from  the  fact  of  his  unusual 
success  in  overcoming  obstacles  involving  difficult  railway 
problems.  His  record  will  now  probably  show  the  highest 
in  railway  construction  mileage. 

IV.  Mary  Ella,  only  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Jr. ;  b. 
Sept.  4,  1847;  m.  April  24,  1870,  Asa  N.  Phelps,  of  Spring- 
field, Wisconsin,  where  they  settled  and  have  since  resided, 
Mr.  Phelps  carrying  on  a  grocery  and  grain  business  at 
that  place.     Their  children  are : 

Cyrus  Alba  Phelps,  b.  Feb.  2.  1871. 
Adeline  Willl-xms  Phelps,  b.   August  4,   1879. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  63 


ELIZA  ROBINSON. 

Eliza  Robinson,  youngest  daughter  and  ninth  chi'kl  of 
Ebenezer  Robinson,  was  born  May  20,  1807,  and  married 
Washington  Keyes,  of  a  well  known  family  in  Reading, 
September  29.  1831.  and  died  December  13,  i860.  They 
settled  on  the  adjoining  farm,  next  northerly  of  the  Eben- 
ezer Robinson  farm,  where  formerly  James,  the  brother  of 
Ebenezer  Robinson,  had  lived,  antl  which  he  had  cleared, 
which  farm  Mr.  Keyes  greatly  improved  and  enjoyed  until 
some  time  after  the  death  of  his  wife. 

They  had  one  child,  Laura  Malvina  Keyes,  who  was  born 
Sept.  7.  1832.  and  afterwards  they  adopted  into  their  fami^iy 
Elmer  Duane.  the  sixth  son  of  Marvin  and  Lucinda  Robin- 
son, whose  mother  died  in  his  infancy  and  who  grew  up  as 
their  child.  Having  used  the  name  of  Keyes  in  his  child- 
hood, he  was  ever  afterward  known  by  that  name.  Refer- 
ence is  made  to  him  under  the  head  of  Chapter  VI.  in  giving 
the  children  of  Alarvin  Robinson. 

Washington  Keyes  was  an  intelligent  and  prosperous 
farmer  and  was  the  representative  of  his  town  in  the  Ver- 
mont Legislature  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  his  wife. 

Laura  M.  Keyes  married  AMlliam  Manning  Williams 
Sept.  7.  1853.  They  had  four  children.  Lizzie,  Arthur. 
Frank  and  Flora  Ella,  the  first  three  of  whom  died  in  child- 
hood. Flora  Ella  was  born  Oct.  31,  1865,  and  was  married 
to  William  Wallace  White  Sept.  2.  1879.  who  died  in  New 
York  Dec.  11.  1887. 

\\'illiam  M.  Williams  was  born  April  6,  1824,  and  was 
the  son  of  Samuel  and  Polly  (Manning)  \\'illiams.  (See 
Chapter  VII.  as  to  his  sister.  Adeline  Williams,  who  mar- 
ried Ebenezer  Roliinson  Jr.)  After  carrying  on  a  wooden- 
ware  manufactory  in  South  Reading,  he  settled  in  New 
York  city  as  cabinetmaker,  and  died  in  that  city  May  19. 
1897.  survived  by  his  wife,  Laura  (Keyes)  Williams,  and 
his  daughter.  Flora  Ella  White. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    ROBINSON    NAME.* 

The  person  who  studies  genealogy  for  the  sake  of  tracing 
descent  from  some  distinguished  ancestor  is  to  be  pitied. 
Disillusion  is  his  invariable  experience.  Such  persons  should 
study  Gibbon's  sketch  of  the  noble  French  house  of  Courte- 
nay,  and  take  the  lesson  home.  Rising  from  a  plebian  root. 
active,  vigorous  individuals  pushed  forward  the  fortunes  of 
the  Courtenay  family  until  it  was  connected  with  the  royal 
line  of  France.  It  remained  prominent  for  a  century  or  two 
and  then  it  gradually,  pitilessly  sank  until  again  it  was  lost 
to  recognition  among  the  masses  of  the  people.  The  honors 
had  passed  away,  but  the  family  remained,  though  its  rami- 
fications were  lost  among  the  many.  So  every  family  is  in- 
extricablv  intermingled  with  all  classes  and  ranks  of  social 
life. 

The  study  of  genealogy  in  itself,  however,  is  in  many 
ways  interesting.  To  trace  the  characteristics  of  a  family 
from  generation  to  generation  is  a  psychological  investiga- 
tion. To  note  the  effect  of  inter-marriage;  to  study  the 
immediate,  marked  result  of  a  capable,  energetic  individual 
upon  all  related  to  him;  to  note  how  environment  affects  de- 
velopment of  character ;  all  of  these  are  questions  that  must 
concern  those  who  are  interested  in  the  life  about  them. 

The  question  of  environment  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
descendants  of  Samuel  Robinson.  He  kept  a  tavern  at 
Cambridge,  a  town  of  schools,  close  to  Boston,  which  even 
then  w^as  one  of  the  most  active  intellectual  and  pc^litical 
centers  of  the  New  Wc^rld.  His  son  Samuel  grew  up  in 
this  atmosphere  of  intellectual  ferment,  and  is  it  surprising 

Homes  of  English  Names.  H.  B.  Ouppy,  1890.  English  Surnames,  Lower, 
1875.      English   Surnames,   Bardsley,   London,   1875. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  65 


that  his  hranch  of  the  descendants  of  WilUam  Robinson  has 
prodnced  more  statesmen  and  men  of  pubhc  Hfe  than  any 
other  ? 

Then  the  study  of  names,  especially  of  surnames,  has  a 
fascination  to  a  thinker.  How  did  they  arise?  A  little  re- 
search shows  us  that  surnames  are  a  mark  of  advanced  civi- 
lization. Camden,  the  great  anticjuary,  says  that  they  were 
not  known  in  England  until  the  time  of  the  English  Con- 
quest. Before  that  time,  every  existing'  deed  is  signed  with 
a  cross  and  a  single  name.  About  the  middle  of  the  twelfth 
century  persons  of  rank  began  to  have  some  distinctive 
name  in  addition  to  the  baptismal  name,  but  such  names  were 
hardly  known  among  the  middle  and  lower  classes  before 
the  fifteenth  century.  Then  all  kinds  of  designations  arose 
and  in  various  ways.  One  person  would  be  named  by  his 
occupation;  a  mason,  a  carpenter,  a  miner;  another  from 
local  names,  as  field,  grove,  lake ;  another  from  the  place 
where  he  resided,  as  Norman,  Poland,  Scott ;  others  from 
the  baptismal  name  of  the  father. 

The  English  surname  of  Robinson  was  derived  from  the 
baptismal  name  of  Robert,  itself  a  Teutonic  name.  A  few 
of  the  derivations  are  as  follows  : 

Robarts,  Robins,  Robinson,  Roberts,  Robertson,  Robison, 
Robson  and  Roby.  Then  we  have  the  nickname  of  Dob 
for  Robert,  from  which  has  come  Dobbs,  Dobson,  Dobbins. 
Dobinson,  and  Dobynette,  and  from  Hob,  another  nickname 
for  Robert,  has  come  Hobbs.  Hobson,  Hobbins,  Hopkins, 
and  Hopkinson.  From  the  Welsh  we  have  Ap-robert,  Ap- 
robin,  and  the  contractions,  Probert  and  Probyn. 

Robert  was  a  frequent  name  among  the  people,  and  the 
following  fact  may  be  one  of  the  reasons  for  its  so  being : 
Salverte  says  that  when  the  European  states  were  converted 
to  the  Christian  faith,  pagan  names  were  laid  aside  and  new 
names  were  imposed  at  the  baptism  of  the  converts.  Nobles 
and  men  of  position  were  given  separate  baptism,  but  the 
plebeian  candidates  were  divided  into  companies,  and  as  the 
priest  conferred  baptism  upon  a  company,  he  would  give  the 
same   name   to   all   the   members   of   the  company.     Now. 


66  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

imagine  that  a  whole  company  were  Ijaptised  "Robert !""  It 
certainly  would  be  an  impossible  task  for  their  descendants 
to  trace  their  ancestry  to  one  common  beginning. 

Then  consider  the  variety  of  names  derived  from  Robert, 
mentioned  in  the  paragraph  above,  and  a  little  reflection  will 
convince  the  most  enthusiastic  genealogist  that  the  attempt 
to  trace  back  all  Robinsons  to  a  common  ancestor  is  a  pre- 
determined failure. 

Neither  should  we  envy  the  heroic  task  of  writing  a 
history  of  the  Robinson  Family,  as  undertaken  l)y  its  de- 
voted historiographer.  ]\Ir.  Chas.  E.  Robinson. 

Lower  (page  177)  gives  a  curious  study  of  statistics 
concerning  sixty  of  the  most  common  surnames  of  England, 
showing  the  births,  deaths  and  marriages  registered  for  one 
year,  ending  Jidy  ist.  1838.  "In  this  time.  ///  England 
alone,  1.445  Robinsons  were  born,  1.223  died  and  ><}/  were 
married." 

Trulv  a  historiographer  of  such  a  family  has  no  light 
task! 

The  name  has  figured  largely  in  early  English  history. 
There  was  "Robin  of  Redesdale."  the  leader  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand farmers  and  peasants  who.  in  1345-  ^t  the  time  of  the 
peasants'  revolt,  marched  to  Bambury  and  captured  the  Earl 
of  Pembroke.  The  name  is  also  preserved  to  us  in  the 
legendery  exploits  of  Robin  Hood,  the  bold  Archer  of 
Sherwood  Forest,  the  hero  of  the  common  people.  His 
name  is  still  used  every  day  in  proverbial  expressions  wher- 
ever the  English  language  is  known.  "All  around  Robin 
Hood's  barn."  indicates  an  unnecessarily  circuitous  way. 
"Robin  Hood's  wind,"  is  a  name  given  in  Lancaster  to  a 
wind  that  blows  during  the  thawing  of  the  snow,  so  named, 
it  is  said,  because  Robin  Hood  once  stated  that  he  could 
stand  anv  wind  except  a  thawing  wind. 

The  great  home  of  the  Robinson  clan  is  in  the  north  of 
England,  its  members  becoming  less  as  you  travel  south. 
There  were  located  its  most  influential  families. 

]\Ir.  Charles  E.  Robinson,  Historiographer  of  the  "Rob- 
inson Familv  Association."  in  his  book,  entitled,  "The  Rob- 


COAT    OF    ARMS    OF    "  Yt    ROBINSONS    FKOM    THE    NORTl 
THE    ENGLISH    HOME    OF    THE    EARLY    ROBINSONS, 
EMIGRANTS    TO    AMERICA. 


ROBINSON    FAMILY.  67 

insons  and  their  Kinfolk,"  has  an  interesting  chapter  on 
"Heraldry."  drawing  his  facts  largely  from  J.  Bernard 
Burke  in  his  "General  Armory."  He  tells  of  the  mottoes, 
crests,  colors,  coats-of-arms  (»f  different  families  of  Rohin- 
sons,  mostly  from  the  North  of  England. 

Some  of  these  mottos  are  as  follows : 

"Robinson  of  Yorkshire  and  Robinson  of  Lancastershire 
have  the  same  motto.  Jlrfiitc,  iioii  I'erbis.  (By  bravery,  not 
by  words.)" 

"Robinson  of  Tottenham,  'rirfiis  prctiosior  aitro.' 
(Virtue  is  more  precious  than  gold.)" 

"Robinson  of  Buckinghamshire,  J'iiicam  Malitiii  bono. 
(I  will  conquer  evil  by  good.)"     Granted  in  1731. 

"Robinson  of  Beverly  House,  Toronto,  Canada,  Propcre 
ct  provide.     (Quickly  and  cautiously.)" 

"Robinson  of  Scotland,  hitciucrata  fides.  (  Uncorrujjted 
faith.)" 

"Robinson,  Earl  of  Ripon,  Oualis  ah  iiiccpfo.  (The 
same  as  from  the  beginning.)" 

"Robinson  of  Rokeby  Hall,  County  of  Louth,  Sola  in 
Deo  Salits.     (Salvation  in  God  alone.)" 

"Robinson,  Lord  Rokeby,  Xon  nobis  solum  scd  toti 
■inundo  iiafi.  (  Not  born  for  ourselves  alone,  but  for  the 
whole  world.)" 

"Robinson  of  Silksworth  Hall,  County  of  Durham,  de- 
scended from  William  Robinson  of  Durham,  living  in  1502. 
Post  nubila  Phoebus.    (Sunshine  after  clouds.)" 

Bv  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Charles  E.  Robinson  we  here 
reproduce  the  coat-of-arms  of  "\\'ilHam  Robinson  of  ye 
North,"  coufirmed  by  the  Herald  of  Arms  in  the  visita- 
tion of  Leicestershire  in  1619,  and  of  London  in  1633. 
{Harleian  publieations,  pp.   182,  204.)" 

This  coat-of-arms  is  simply  given  as  one  among  the 
-nineteen  that  are  noted  by  Mr.  Charles  E.  Robinson  as 
belonging  to  different  Robinson  families,  and  as  a  matter  of 
interest  to  any  one  bearing  the  Robinson  name. 

We  have  no  proof  to  adduce  that  "William  of  Newton 
or  Watertown,"  the  most  remote  direct  ancestor  of  Eben- 


68  HISTORICAL   SKETCH 

ezer  Robinson,  known  to  us,  had  any  connection  with 
these  Enghsh  famiHes  entitled  to  possess  coats-of-arms, 
other  than  the  tradition  of  the  family  that  he  came  from  the 
north  of  England.  \Ye  know  that  some  of  the  Robinson 
families  in  America  brought  over  from  England  parchment 
copies  of  arms,  wliich  appear  on  early  deeds  of  their  prop- 
erty, while  in  the  list  of  individuals  for  whom  crests  were 
made  in  early  colonial  times,  in  this  country,  there  is  no  one 
by  the  name  of  Robinson. 

So  far  as  we  can  learn,  the  ancestors  of  Ebenezer  Robin- 
son were  hard-working.  God-fearing  men  and  women,  who 
deserved  well  of  their  generation  by  their  straightforward, 
useful  lives.  The  descendants  of  Ebenezer  Robinson  are 
content  that  he  possessed  the  same  characteristics  of  a  good 
husband,  a  devoted  father,  a  faithful  Christian,  and  that  his 
best  claim  to  be  remembered  by  those  coming  after  him,  is 
that  he  was  a  brave  patriot,  "A  Soldier  of  the  Revolution." 


OFFICERS 


Robinson  Family  Association 


IPreslDent 

Hon.    DAVID   I.    ROBINSON,    Gloucester,    Ms 


Uicc=lprc5i&cnts 
Judge  Gifford  S.  Robinson, 
Increase  Robinson,      - 
James  H.  Dean,  Esq., 
George  O.  Robinson, 
Prof.  Wiixiam  H.  Brewer, 
INIr.  Roswell  R.  Robinson,    - 
Capt.  Charles  T.  Robinson, 
Rev.  William  A.  Robinson, 
Mr   John  H.  Robinson, 
Mr.  Charles  F.  Robinson,     - 
Mr.  George  W.  Robin.son, 
Henry  P.  Robinson,     -  .  .  . 


Sioux  City,  la. 
Waterville,  Me. 
Taunton,  Ma.ss. 
Detroit,  Mich. 
New  Haven,  Conn. 
Maiden,  Mass. 
Taunton,  Mass. 
Middletown,  N.  Y. 
Boston,  Mass. 
North  Raynham,  Mass. 
Elburn,  111. 
Guilford,  Conn. 


Secretary? 

Adelaide  A.   Robinson,  North  Raynham,   Mass. 

ilrcasurer 
N.  Bradford   Dean,  Taunton,  Mass, 

iHfstorfocirapber 

Charles  E.  Robinson,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 


lEjrccutivc  Committee 

Fred  W.  Robinson,      -            .  .            . 
Charles  K.  Robinson, 

George  R.  Wright,     -            -  .           . 
Orlando  G.  Robinson, 

Bethuel  Penniman,     -           -  -           - 


Boston,  Mass. 
New  York. 
Wilkesbarre,  Pa. 
Raynham,  Mass. 
New  Bedford,  Mass. 


The  next  Biennial  Meeting  of  this  A.ssociation  will  be  held  at 
Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  in  August,  1904. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

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